
Class 

Book 



csiEoaam dsposox 



The Christian Life 

and 

How to Live It 



W. H. Griffith Tkomas, D.D. 



Chicago 

The Bible Institute Colportage Aiaociation 

826 North La Salle Street 



A^^' 

fA-1 



:s>v. . ^ 



1 



Copyright, 1919, by 
The Bitle Institute Colportage Association, of Ckicago 



Oa] 23 1919 



©CI.A536330 



CO 

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AUTHOR'S NOTE 



Several years ago I published in England a lit- 
tle book with the title, "Royal and Loyal/' con- 
sisting of addresses and Bible readings given in 
various places. As this book is now out of print, 
the addresses are here reproduced, together with 
two additional ones (forming chapters I and II). 

The one theme running through the book is 
the Christian life, with its twofold attitude toward 
God and toward man, involving both the Lordship 
of Christ and the loyalty of Christians. "To this 
end Christ both died and lived again that He 
might be Lord" (Rom. 14:9); "Ye call Me 
Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am" 
(John 13:13) ; "Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and 
do not the things which I say.'*" (Luke 6:46). 

That these chapters in their new form may help 
every reader to experience and enjoy all that 
God has provided and intends for us in Christ, 
is the writer's prayer. 

W. H. Griffith Thomas. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. What Is Christianity? ----- 7 

II. What We Believe 21 

III. What Is a Christian? S2 

IV. "Here Am I" - - 88 

V. "I Serve" 59 

VI. Walking with God - 73 

VII. The Fulness of God 86 

VIII. Peace, Perfect Peace ----- 100 

IX. Joy and Praise -------110 

X. God's Surprises ------ 119 



The Christian Life 



CHAPTER I 

What Is Christianity? 

*'Thou art permitted to speak for thyself I 

beseech thee to hear me patiently." — -Acts xxvi. 1, 3. 

THE question^ "What is Christianity?'' has 
been very prominent of late years in the 
minds of men. Scholars in several lands have 
been writing on "The Essence of Christianity/* 
The question is a natural and necessary one, and 
certainly most important. What is Christianity? 
Not what is its irreducible minimum, not how lit- 
tle a man may accept, and yet be a Christian, but 
what are the characteristic and distinctive ele- 
ments of Christianity, what must he accept if he 
would really profess and call himself a Christian? 
One of the best ways to answer this question 
is to take the life, or some point in the life, of 
one of the finest men and truest Christians that 
ever lived, the Apostle Paul, and try to discover 
what Christianity meant to him. We may do this 

7 



8 The Christian Life 

in a variety of ways^ but for the present we con- 
fine ourselves almost entirely to one episode in 
the Apostle's life^ his appearance before Agrippa 
and Festus^ as recorded in Acts xxvi. In this re- 
markable story we have a striking picture of St. 
Paul. As a man he is seen at his best. There 
is no constraint in his utterances ; he is in his ele- 
ment; the subject suits him^ and he yields himself 
to it, and the result is this magnificent apologia. 
As we listen to him, we can see something of the 
reality of his splendid manhood, and are reminded 
of the well-known words: 

*'The elements 
So mixed in him that Nature might stand up 
And say to all the world, 'This was a man.' " 

This is all the more noteworthy when we re- 
member that the man before whom he stood was 
one of earth's meanest creatures. And it would 
almost seem as if St. Paul realised this, for, as 
we listen to him, we forget the first picture of 
Paul the man, and become wholly absorbed in the 
second and larger view of Paul the Apostle. He 
goes far beyond a mere defence of himself, and 
pleads for the Master Whom he loved and served. 
As though realising the characters and lives of 
Agrippa and Bernice, he proclaims the everlast- 
ing Gospel, and thus we have not simply a pic- 
ture of Paul the prisoner, defending and justify- 



What Is Chrkticmity? 9 

ing himself; but chiefiy a picture of Paul the ad- 
vocate, proclaiming and defending his Master. 
Paul at the bar of Agrippa becomes merged into 
the far nobler scene of Christianity at the bar 
of the world. Christianity speaks here in the per- 
son of Paul, and in the opening words of the chap- 
ter we have the salient features of its message. 

CHRISTIANITY HAS SOMETHING TO SAY 

"Thou art permitted to speak/' said Agrippa: 
and if only the world allows this to Christianity, 
it mil speak, for it has something to say. It has 
a threefold Gospel. 

The Gospel of the Resurrection. This was the 
basis and burden of the Apostolic message, "Jesus 
and the Resurrection.'' "Why," said Paul to 
Agrippa, "should it be thought a thing incredible 
with you that God should raise the dead.'*" On 
the fact of the Resurrection the Apostles took their 
stand, and preached it everywhere. This mes- 
sage of the Resurrection was the cause of all the 
opposition they encountered, especially from the 
Jewish rulers, who were angered by the procla- 
mation of the Risen One of Nazareth. Now wc 
naturally enquire why the Resurrection should 
have caused such enmity and persecution. Be- 
cause of that which it implied, the Godhead of 
Jesus Christ. The opposers knew very well that 



10 The Christian Life 

to accept the Resurrection was to accept Christ 
as God^ for by the Resurrection all His claims 
were irrefragably established. And this^ too, was 
the reason of the prominence of the Resurrection 
in the Apostolic preaching, the witness it bore to 
the Godhead of Christ. It proclaimed Him to be 
God, and as God Whom the world needs ; not some 
distant Being, Who, having created the world, is 
no longer intimately concerned with it; but God 
Who is near, approachable, available for our every- 
day life. Three times in one epistle St. Paul calls 
the Gospel "the Gospel of God," and this not only 
because it comes from God, but because it declares 
Him. God, as the Source of life and power, was 
proclaimed in the Resurrection of Christ, and this 
is the first part of that "something" which Chris- 
tianity has to say. 

The Gospel of the Kingdom, The words of St. 
Paul (in verse 15,) clearly show that acceptance 
of Christ as God carried with it the acceptance 
of Him as Lord and Master, and implied the ac- 
knowledgment of our position as subjects and serv- 
ants. Since Christ is God, He is supreme, He is 
King and Ruler, and we are His subjects, and 
consequently, through the Acts of the Apostles, 
we find clear and significant reference to the King- 
dom of God. This Kingdom is at once present 
and future. Our Lord's conversations before His 
Ascension were concerned with it. Philip preached 



What Is Christiamty? 11 

it in Samaria^ St. Paul at Ephesus did likewise, 
and the last words of the book show St. Paul at 
Rome '^preaching the kingdom of God." These 
men were not afraid of the logic of their belief, 
the outcome of their fundamental doctrines. "Is 
Christ God.f* Then I am His subject." They real- 
ised and preached Christ, Who because He is God 
claims men as His own, claims to rule over their 
lives, not only bestowing upon them the privileges, 
but calling for the performance of the duties of 
their heavenly citizenship. The Gospel of the 
Kingdom is the second part of that "something" 
which Christianity has to say. 

The Gospel of Pardon. This, as verse 18 shows, 
was also an integral part of the Apostolic preach- 
ing. Men are rebels against God by reason of 
sin; and rebels cannot possibly become subjects 
of His Kingdom until they are pardoned — until 
they have submitted and surrendered their lives 
to Him. Unless the rebellion of sin is quelled in 
man, there can be no entrance into God's King- 
dom, no acceptance of Christ as God. And so the 
Apostle Paul preached everywhere the forgiveness 
of sins. The burden of his message was, "Through 
this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of 
sins." "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved." He preached a full, free, 
present, assured, everlasting pardon: and this is 



12 The Christian Life 

the third part of that "something" which Chris- 
tianity has to say. 

CHRISTIANITY HAS SOMETHING TO SAY FOR ITSELF 

"Thou art permitted to speak for thyself/' This 
is what the Gospel desires, and for three reasons: 

Hearsay Evidence is often erroneous. In this 
very book of the Acts we find glaring instances 
of the danger of hearsay. The Church was re- 
garded as an obscure Jewish sect, with some pe- 
culiar ideas of "one Jesus." There was a smat- 
tering, a second-hand smattering of knowledge; 
and, unfortunately, we find the same only too 
prevalent to-day. There is sadly too much second- 
hand religion, religion gathered only from com- 
mon report, ordinary conversation, and literary 
tradition. Very frequently the Bible is condemned 
without having been read, very often St. Paul's 
Epistles are criticised without having been studied. 
It is simply astounding to find error about the 
Gospel, and even about simple Bible facts, in many 
whose position and education warrant something 
vastly different. There is error, because there is 
no real knowledge; error, because hearsay evi- 
dence is so often erroneous. But we may go fur- 
ther and say that 

Christian Testimony is only partial. Paul here 
gives his own testimony, and there can be no pos- 



What Is CUristiamty? lb 

sible doubt that the well-known change in his life 
had a great effect on his hearers^ and was a fact 
they could not get over. His conversion and 
subsequent life counted for something, and it was 
as though he said, "I experienced this; deny it, 
and you say that I lie." St. Paul's character was 
questioned by any who dared to deny the change. 
Yet when we have said all that we can for the 
power of this, it remains true that Christian testi- 
mony is only partial and incomplete. While Chris- 
tians are what they are, with the old Adam still 
within them, there will always be slips and fail- 
ures and sins, and I pity the man who takes his 
Christianity from Christians only. There is no 
doubt that we Christians ought to show much more 
of the Christ-life than we do, and may God par- 
don us for so often being stumbling-blocks instead 
of stepping-stones. Yet such testimony, however 
real, can only be partial, and this leads us to say 
that 

Personal Experience is always sure. This was 
the goal of the Apostle; to this he was trying to 
lead his hearers; for this purpose he gave his 
own testimony. He desired Agrippa to test Chris- 
tianity for himself; not only to hear of Paul's 
Christ, but to have his own Christ, confident that 
Agrippa would find Christ what he himself had 
found Him. The primal necessity is to get our 
religion direct from Christ, not to ask this man or 



14 The Christian Life 

that man, not to follow this book or that book, but 
to go direct to the Book of books and find Christ 
for ourselves. When Nathanael questioned 
whether any good thing could come out of Naz- 
areth, Philip did not preach, or argue, or de- 
nounce; he simply said, "Come and see." This 
is the only safe test — the test of personal experi- 
ence. Read His Word for yourselves: see who 
He is, and what He asks, comply with His de- 
mands, surrender the life, and the result will soon 
be similar to that of the Samaritans: **Now we 
believe, not because of thy saying, for we have 
heard Him ourselves, and know that this is in- 
deed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." 

CHRISTIANITY HAS SOMETHING TO SAY FOR ITSELF 
WORTH HEARING 

"I beseech thee to hear me." This, too, is what 
the Gospel asks. 

The Gospel of the Resurrection explains the 
enigmas of life. What the world needs is God; 
without Him all is confusion. Without God there 
is no real life, no true happiness, no permanent 
satisfaction. Without God the past has no assur- 
ance, the present no confidence, and the future 
no hope. Without God man is a creature in the 
darkness and filth of sin, with nothing but gloom 
and despair at the end of his days. But bring in 



What Is Christianity? 15 

the Resurrection of Christ, and all is changed. 
It reveals God as Saviour, Guide, Strength, All — 
it enables us to live the present, and to hope stead- 
fastly as to the future. There is light through 
the Resurrection for the whole life, the light of 
God's presence, the joy, the peace, the power and 
preciousness of His presence, and the enigmas of 
life are solved by the Gospel of the Resurrection. 

The Gospel of the Kingdom meets all the dif- 
ficulties of life. What is the root of all man s 
troubles.'* Turn to the Garden of Eden for the 
answer. It was man's desire to be independent. 
The setting-up of self against God and instead of 
God — this is the essence of all sin. It means 
that man will not have God to rule over him, will 
not acknowledge and obey the law of God; but 
will have a law of his own as the guide of his 
life. And so man attempts self-government, 'local 
self-government" in a very literal sense, and the 
result is abject, absolute failure. Man has had 
his opportunity of guiding his own life, and we 
know full well what has happened in the history 
of the world. 

Take political life as an illustration. There 
have been several forms of government seen 
through the ages, but all incomplete and, in them- 
selves alone, really useless. Once autocracy was 
tried, but found pernicious through tyranny. Then 
came aristocracy, but this alone was also found 



I 



16 The Chris tia/n Life 

unsatisfactory. Now some who ridicule aristoc- 
racy are trying plutocracy, government by money, 
but this is proving itself infinitely more danger- 
ous. And others are trying democracy, and we 
shall see how this fares. It matters not what may 
be the form, man was never intended to be inde- 
pendent. Democracy alone has in itself the ele- 
ments of a terrible tyranny, and it is not preach- 
ing the politics of earth, but the politics of Heaven, 
to say that, though there are elements of good in 
autocracy, aristocracy, plutocracy, and democracy, 
each and all of these must be guided, held, and 
controlled by Theocracy, government by God. De 
Tocqueville well says that **men never so much 
need to be theocratic as when they are most demo- 
cratic." What the world needs, what each man 
needs, is the Absolute Monarchy of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Man needs the laws, rules and sanctions 
of Christ's Kingdom, for these would permanently 
settle all the difficult problems of individual and 
social life. Just as the demonstrations in Trafal- 
gar Square, London, England, years ago were set- 
tled by an appeal to Crown rights, to the claim 
of the Crown over that area, so in like manner any 
difficulties through sin, the "demonstrations'* of 
sin, individual or corporate, can be quickly settled 
by claiming and acknowledging the Crovni rights 
of the Lord Jesus. Only let Christ reign supreme 



What Is Christianity? 17 

in heart and life, and the difficulties of life are 
met by the Gospel of the Kingdom. 

The Gospel of Pardon satisfies the needs of life. 
The chief need of man is pardon, freedom from 
a troubled conscience. The old question, "Canst 
thou not minister to the mind diseased.'^*' again 
and again recurs. We have a sense of guilt and 
unrest, a sense of bondage and weakness, a sense 
of defilement and separation from God, which 
nothing can touch. And it is only in the Gospel 
of pardon that these needs can be satisfied. It 
is only when Christ says : "Peace, be still," "Come 
out," that the spirit of evil loses its power; it is 
only when He reveals Himself that the schism 
in our nature is healed, and the needs of life sat- 
isfied by the Gospel of pardon. These are the rea- 
sons why Christianity is worth hearing. 

CHRISTIANITY HAS SOMETHING TO SAY FOR ITSELF 
WORTH HEARING PATIENTLY 

"I beseech thee to hear me patiently," said 
Paul. So says the Gospel. Why.^ 

It concerns our Highest Interests, It has to 
do with life here and life hereafter. It claims to 
touch life at every part, to solve all its problems, 
to minister to its most important needs. It there- 
fore deserves and demands our most careful at- 



18 The Christicm Life 

tention^ for if it is all true^ it is terribly true, 
and no one can reject it without peril. 

It speaks to our Whole Nature, Not to the mind 
only to interest it with mere speculation; not to 
the heart only to indulge it with mere sentiment; 
not to the conscience only to frighten and terrify 
it; not to the imagination only to entrance it with 
ephemeral visions ; not to the will only to make 
it headstrong and self-centred; but to the whole 
nature in every part^ to guarantee a real, com- 
plete, and balanced nature and character. And 
may God help that man who is closing any part 
of his nature to the Gospel of Christ, who, like 
Felix, is allowing sin to keep him back, or who, 
like Festus or Agrippa, is cynically indifferent to 
it. No one can close mind and heart against 
Christ with impunity. It is a sad confession of 
Darwin that, through long usage of his faculties 
in the direction of physical science, he had lost all 
taste for music and the fine arts, and had become 
so far mentally atrophied. And it is terribly true 
that a man may suffer moral atrophy and spiritual 
deadness by misuse or disuse of any faculty in 
relation to the Gospel. 

It calls for the use of All our Powers. It asks 
openness of mind, truthfulness of heart, and loyalty 
of life. It appeals to us to put away prejudice 
and preconception, and to listen carefully to what 
it has to say. It has an A B C first, and then, 



What Is Christianity? 19 

arising out of that^ higher and fuller knowledge. 
It asks that the truth may be received with that 
openness of mind and that willingness to learn 
which form the basis of all wisdom. Then it asks 
that the truths accepted by the mind should be 
yielded to in loving confidence by the hearty and 
lived out day by day in the conduct. 

This Gospel message comes to us now as it came 
to Agrippa^ asking only a personal test. With 
courtesy it asks for candor^ patience^ and thor- 
oughness^ and given these^ all the demands of our 
complex life will be satisfied. 

"O, make but trial of His love. 
Experience will decide, 
How blest are they, and only they. 
Who in His truth confide." 

Our defilement will be cleansed by the salva- 
tion of the Gospel; our weakness made strong by 
its grace; our roughness made smooth by its 
power; our anxiety assured by its reality; our 
doubt removed by its truth; our tempest calmed 
by its peace ; our darkness illuminated by its light ; 
our sorrow alleviated by its comfort; our misery 
relieved by its joy; our defencelessness sur- 
rounded by its protection; our coldness warmed 
by its love; and our emptiness filled by its ful- 
ness. The whole circumference of our need will 
be forever met and perfectly satisfied in the treas- 



20 The Christian Life 

ures of the Gospel of the living, present. Divine. 
glorious Christ. And, therefore, comes now to 
each one of us the simple message, the old familiar 
invitation, *'0 taste and see that the Lord is good: 
blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." 



CHAPTER II 

What We Believe 

"But after that the kindness and love of God our 
Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of right- 
eousness which we have done, but according- to His 
mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, 
and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us 
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that 
being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs 
according to the hope of eternal life." — Titus lii. 4-7. 

A PROLONGED correspondence in a daily 
new'spaper some time ago on **Do We Be- 
lieve?" was a significant and remarkable sign of 
the times. The widespread interest as shown by 
the thousands of letters received by the editor 
testified to the unrest of the age and its longing 
for certitude. 

"Do we believe?" The answer is^ "Yes, of 
course we do, for everyone does." It is simple 
truth to say that there is not a single person in 
the world who does not believe. Belief is funda- 
mental and essential to human life. The child 
could not do other than believe its parents; the 
scholar cannot but believe what his schoolmaster 
tells him; business life would be impossible with- 
out belief, and international affairs are necessarily 
based on this element of trust. Everywhere, at 
all times, and by all faith is being exercised. 
The real question is not, "Do we believe?" but 
21 



22 The Christian Life 

"What do you believe?'* or still better^ ''Whom do 
we believe?'' Everything depends upon the sub- 
stance of our faith and the Object of our trust. 
It is when these questions are asked that differ- 
ences of opinion and differences of faith emerge. ^ 

To this way of looking at the subject we must 
now turn our attention. What do we believe as 
Christians^ as those who profess and confess the 
name of Jesus Christ? What is the substance of 
our faith? What is the meaning of that which we 
acknowledge as followers of Christ? The answers 
to these inquiries can be given in many forms. 
We will however take the above passage, and that a 
very noteworthy one, from the epistles of the great 
Apostle Paul in order to answer that question, 
*'What do we believe?" 

The keynote of this passage is evidently the idea 
of Salvation, for it is mentioned or implied at least 
four times, and to speak quite briefly it may be 
said that we Christians believe in Salvation, Sal- 
vation, properly understood, is the most glorious 
fact and reality in the world, and it is the char- 
acteristic feature of the Christian religion. It y 
means, to put it in another way. Safety, and a 
Safety that concerns man's spiritual life from 
time to eternity. Let us look more carefully at 
some aspects of this wonderful revelation of 
Safetv for mankind. Christians believe in 



What We Believe 23 

THE AUTHOR OF SALVATION 

He is described in this passage as "God our 
Saviour^** and we are told very distinctly of four 
aspects of His Divine character. , 

His Divine Goodness (ver. 4). This is the 
meaning of the term translated "kindness" in the 
English version^ and it depicts for us God's char- 
acter^ that which He is in Himself. The very 
meaning of the word **God/' according to some 
authorities^ is "good/* the One Who is perfectly 
good; faith rests on this as on a sure foundation. 
We trust in One Who is essential goodness, and 
herein our minds and hearts are at peace. 

His Divine Philanthropy (ver. 4). The word 
"love" in this passage is quite literally "philan- 
thropy/* or the love of man as man. It is only 
found in this one passage as descriptive of God, 
and gives us a beautiful picture of the Divine heart 
in its attitude towards mankind. Philanthropy is 
generally associated with man's love to man, but 
here we find the source and spring of it in God'g 
love to man simply because he is man. 

His Divine Mercy (ver. 5). Mercy is pity to 
the needy, and here again we have a revelation of 
God's attitude to man. He knows our need, and 
in mercy pities us with a Divine compassion and 
stoops to our aid. 

His Divine Grace (ver. 7). Grace is even more 



24 The Christian Life 

than mercy. We may show pity to the needy who 
are needy through no fault of their own^ but Di- 
vine grace means favour to the undeserving^ to 
those who are brought into misery and wretched- 
ness through their own sin and wickedness. 

This fourfold picture of God as the Author of 
Salvation is the foundation of our faith and the 
assurance of our trust. Could anything be more 
solid and substantial^ more real and satisfying 
than the Christian's trust in such a wonderful 
God.?* 

But this is not all; we must go into particulars 
and notice our belief in 

THE REALITY OF SALVATION 

Salvation is Entirely Unmerited, *'Not hy works 
of righteousness which we have done'* (ver. 5). 
All through the ages mankind has shown in va- 
rious ways its need of and longing for salvation 
and its earnest desire to be right with God^ and 
yet it is a curious and striking fact that side by 
side with these intense desires^ man has ever sought 
to accomplish this end by his own unaided efforts. 
It was through a desire to be independent of God 
that man fell, and almost ever since that day man 
has evinced the same independence of God in try- 
ing to get back to the Divine presence. The re- 
sult has been seen in the various religious systems 



What We Believe 25 

with their sacrifices, altars, cleansings, gifts, pen- 
ances, and other human works, but all with no ef- 
fect, for if man is to win salvation by his works 
those works must be perfect, and he must keep 
God's law wholly and absolutely in thought, word, 
and deed. The impossibility of this is evident 
when we remember what sin has done for man in 
affecting every part of his moral being, and pre- 
venting him from doing that which is right in the 
sight of God. If, then, man is to be saved, it must 
be entirely outside his own merits or deservings 
and quite apart from any works of his own. It is 
often pointed out that mankind is divided into two 
great classes in relation to religion. One class en- 
deavoring to win God's favour by merit or work 
is really saying, "Something in my hand I bring/' 
The other class, utterly distrustful of self and 
human merit, says in penitent trust, 

"Nothing in my hand I bring, 
Simply to Thy Cross I cling." 

Salvation is Divinely Merciful. "According to 
His mercy He saved us" (ver. 5). Salvation, if 
it is to be effectual, must of necessity be Divine. 
It must be the work of God and no one else. This 
is the burden of the Christian religion: ''Salva- 
tion is of the Lord." "Gbd our Saviour'* is one of 
the most remarkable titles of the Divine Being, 



26 The Christian Life 

and it is of His mercy alone that salvation has 
been brought to man. There was nothing in man 
to merit it or deserve it^ but God of His own mercy 
came to our rescue and saved us in Christ with an 
everlasting salvation. 

Salvation is Absolutely Complete. **He saved 
us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of 
the Holy Ghost'' (ver. 5). In these words we are 
told very plainly of the perfection of God's salva- 
tion. It starts with regeneration^ the gift of God's 
new life which accompanies the washing and 
cleansing of forgiveness^ and then this life issues 
in daily renovation and renewal. Thus from first 
to last there is perfect provision for every conceiv- 
able circumstance in the gift of Divine life with 
which our salvation commences^ and in the con- 
stant, daily, even momentary renewal of that life 
by the presence and power of the Holy Ghost. 

Salvation is Gloriously Abundant, **Which He 
shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our 
Saviour" (ver. 6). God's gifts are always in pro- 
fusion; as in nature so in grace, there is abundant 
and overflowing provision. In the Father's house 
there is ''bread enough and to spare/' and God's 
salvation is poured out upon us in wealth and 
abundance, meeting every conceivable need and all 
possible circumstances in every part of the world. 
There is salvation from the ignorance of sin 
through the Divine knowledge, salvation from the 



What We Believe 27 

guilt of sin through che Divine righteousness^ sal- 
vation from the bandage of sin through the Divine 
redemption, salvation from the defilement of sin 
through the Divine holiness, salvation from the 
weakness of sin through the Divine power, salva- 
tion from the degradation of sin through the Divine 
glory, salvation from the enmity of sin through 
the Divine fellowship, and in the life to come sal- 
vation from the very presence of sin as the crown 
and culmination of God's marvellous provision. 
Thus we have in this passage the Father, the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the blessed and 
glorious Trinity, revealed as our Saviour, and of- 
fering to everyone the guarantee of a perfect sal- 
vation. 

Even all this, however, is not sufficient. We 
have hitherto been considering the facts and glories 
of Divine revelation in the salvation of man, but 
it is possible for these facts to remain outside our- 
selves without coming into contact with our daily 
life. Hence the need of looking again at the pas- 
sage of Scripture before us as we express our be- 
lief in 

THE EXPERIENCE OF SALVATION 

How does this Divine salvation come into human 
life.^ What does it do for us in our personal ex- 
perience } 



28 The Christicm Life 

It gives us a New Position, "Being justified 
by His grace" (ver. 7). Justification means the 
restoration of that position which man lost through 
sin. It is the reinstatement, and even more than 
the reinstatement, in what man possessed before 
the Fall. It implies the removal of the guilt of 
sin, the removal of the condemnation of sin, the 
removal of the separation caused by sin. It is the 
Divine righteousness covering the sinner, and Di- 
vine grace regarding that sinner as righteous in 
the eyes of God's holy law. Truly this is a new 
position, the gift of righteousness by grace through 
faith. 

It gives us a New Privilege. '*That being jus- 
tified by His grace, we should be made heirs" 
(ver. 7). In our phraseology an "heir" means one 
who will succeed to an estate after the present 
owner's death^ but in the New Testament, in con- 
nection with spiritual realities, the terms "heir" 
and "inheritance" include a present experience in 
part of our glorious heritage. The Apostle Paul 
could not think of anything higher than this. "If 
children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs 
with Christ" (Rom. viii. 17). What a glorious 
privilege is this, to be heirs already enjoying in 
part the wealth of God's grace and the heritage of 
His mercy and favour ! 

It gives us a New Possession. "Eternal life" 
(ver. 7). Eternal life in connection with the 



What We Believe 29 

Christian religion means the personal experience 
of God (John xvii. 3), and the present possession 
of His Divine life (John v. 24). Life is not meas- 
ured by duration but by quality, and this eternal 
life is even now the possession of all the children 
of God. 

It gives us a New Prospect, "Heirs according 
to the hope of eternal life" (ver. 7). Hope, in the 
New Testament, is always associated with the great 
future connected with the Lord's Coming. Again 
and again, indeed no less than three hundred times, 
is the "blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our 
great God and Saviour," brought before us as the 
expectation of the Christian, and the crown of all 
his aspirations and endeavours. This, and this 
only is the prospect set out by the Christian re- 
ligion. We look forward with joy and satisfac- 
tion to the time when we shall see Him as He is, 
and be made like unto Him in His eternal and 
glorious kingdom. 

This, then, is what Christians believe, and, even 
more, this is the substance of our faith in Him 
whom we believe. There is a world of difference 
between believing facts and trusting a person. 
Facts are, of course, necessary, but it is possible 
to believe in facts about God without believing 
in God Himself. These facts of the Christian 
religion, the facts concerning salvation, only be- 
come vital and real as our faith is exercised in 



30 The Christian Life 

the Person of God Himself^ personal trust in a 
personal Saviour. 

The question then for us is^ Do we believe in 
jHim as our God and Saviour? Is our trust cen- 
tred in Him? Does our heart go out to Him in 
simple childlike trust and dependence? This is 
really the essence of beHef and faith. Some years 
ago the great missionary^ Dr. John G. Paton, told 
an audience in England of the great difficulty he 
had in the early days of his missionary work in 
the South Sea Islands in translating the New 
Testament into the vernacular of the people among 
whom he was labouring. He could not find in 
their language any equivalent for the Bible idea 
of faith; to those people ''hearing" was equivalent 
to faith^ and if anyone told another something 
which he believed^ he would reply^ **I hear," and 
if he did not credit the news would say, "I do not 
hear." Dl*. Paton easily saw that this would not 
suffice for the New Testament meaning of faith, 
especially in such a passage as "Faith cometh by 
hearing," and for months he sought in vain to find 
an exact equivalent in the language of the people. 
At last, one day, when a very intelligent native 
came into his room, he thought he would make an- 
other attempt to obtain the word he needed. Dr. 
Paton was sitting on his chair, and as he sat there 
he said to the native, **What am I doing now?" 
to which he replied, "You are sitting down, Mas- 



What We Believe 31 

ter.'* Dr. Paton saw clearly that this would not 
suffice^ and lifting up his feet on to the bar of 
the chair and leaning back, resting his full weight 
on the chair, he said to the man, "What am I do- 
ing now?*' "You are leaning wholly on the chair." 
At once Dr. Paton felt that he had obtained what 
he desired, and from that time forward the ver- 
sion of the Scripture used in those Islands has 
described faith as "leaning wholly and only on 
God," and hundreds of those natives have all 
through these years been showing in their lives 
that they are leaning wholly and only on the Lord 
Jesus for salvation and everlasting glory. This is 
trust, leaning wholly, leaning only, and leaning al- 
ways on God. 

"Jesus, I will trust Thee, trust Thee with tny soul; 
Guilty, lost, and helpless. Thou canst make me whole. 
There is none in heaven or on earth like Thee: 
Thou hast died for sinners — therefore, Lord, for me." 



CHAPTER III 

What Is a Christian? 

"The disciples were called Christians first in An- 
tioch." — Acts xi, 26. 

WHEN a coin has been long in use, and its 
impression has become effaced, it is not 
easy to recall what it was like when it came forth 
new from the mint. We may also say that 'words 
in this respect are very much like coins; usage 
wears them and often entirely changes their 
meaning. Something like this has happened to the 
word "Christian," though the change in the mean- 
ing of the word is due to a very different idea of 
the fact, a different view of what it means to be 
a Christian." In the early days of Christianity 
it was difficult to be a Christian, but nowadays 
many people think it quite an easy and simple mat- 
ter. In those days it meant very much to be a 
Christian, for it was a real test of life and char- 
acter, but to some people in the present day it 
means practically nothing. For this reason it may 
be well to enquire into the real idea and meaning 
of being a Christian. 

The origin of the word "Christian" is full of 
interest. It was given in one of the greatest cities 
of the world — ^Antioch in Syria, a meeting-place 

82 



What Is a Christicm? 33 

of all the nations by reason of its commerce and 
learning. One special interest of the word is 
that it combines Jewish thought with Greek 
and Latin language^ and thus, like the inscrip- 
tion on the cross, bears witness to the universal- 
ity of Christianity as a religion for the whole 
world. The idea of "Christ" (Messiah) is Jew- 
ish; the substantive "Christ" (x/otWos) is Greek, 
and the adjectival termination "ian" (-ianus) is 
Latin. The followers of Jesus were called "Naza- 
renes" and "Gallileans" by their Jewish fellow- 
countrymen, but this new name was intended to 
introduce and mark the difference between Jews 
and Gentiles on the one hand and those who, 
whether from Jews or Gentiles, were followers 
of Jesus Christ. 

What then does it mean.'* Let us try and re- 
cover the marks of the coin. What is it to be a 
Christian? It is evident that in some way or 
other a Christian is one who is related to Christ. 
The relationship is twofold. A Christian is one 
who is 

UNITED TO CHRIST 

The term "Christian" evidently points to the 
Person of Christ, and to those who are associated 
with Him as His followers. It implies and in 
volves union and close association with Christ. 



34 The Christian Life 

There is a Union of Life. The life of Christ 
becomes the life of His followers; they are **born 
again*' (John iii. 3), and are made "partakers of 
the Divine nature'' (2 Pet. i. 4). Christ lives in 
them (Gal. ii. 20), and they are ever growing up 
into Him Who is their life (Eph. iv. 15). 

There is also a Union of Love, Christians love 
Christ, because He first loved them (1 John iv. 
19). This love shows itself in loyalty. They re- 
spond to His call and realise that they are not 
their own but His. It is this intimate union and 
close relation of Christ and Christians that ex- 
plains the well-known phrase, "Christianity is 
Christ." His Person is the Object of our wor- 
ship; His sacrifice is the basis of our trust; His 
life is the standard of our example; His truth is 
the light of our conduct; His glory is the motive 
of our endeavours; His coming is the hope of our 
soul. Christ for us is our atonement; Christ in 
us is our power; Christ under us is our founda- 
tion; Christ around us is our protection; Christ 
over us is our Master; Christ beside us is our pat- 
tern; Christ before us is our hope. 

And this union of life and love is effected and 
maintained by Faith. Trust is the link of con- 
nection with Christ. It is the eye of the soul that 
looks to Him; it is the hand of the soul that takes 
Him ; it is the ear of the soul that listens to Him ; 
it is the mouth of the soul that appropriates Him. 



What Is a Chrhticm? 35 

Faith receives Christ ; Faith rests on Christ ; Faith 
realizes Christ; Faith rejoices in Christ. 

From this follows the next and complementary 
aspect of what is a Christian. He is one who is 

ANOINTED BY CHRIST 

The word "Christ'* means "The Anointed One/' 
and is the equivalent of the Jewish term "Mes- 
siah." In the Old Testament the anointing oil 
was the symbol of the appointment of Prophet, 
Priest, and King. This anointing oil was the type 
of the Holy Spirit with which Christ was anointed 
(Acts X. 38) and with which the Christian is 
anointed in Christ (2 Cor. i. 21, 22). To be a 
Christian, then, means to receive the Spirit of 
Christ, and to be filled with His Grace and Power. 

The Christian is anointed for Purity. The Holy 
Spirit cleanses the heart from defilement and clears 
the mind from darkness. The soul is thus kept 
pure by the indwelling presence of the Spirit of 
God. 

The Christian is anointed for Pomer. The Holy 
Spirit is the Spirit of Power; He gives the be- 
liever power with God in prayer and intercession. 
He also endues with power in relation to man^ 
enabling the believer to show sympathy with man 
and do service for God. The anointing with the 
Holy Ghost is thus the essential feature and neces- 



36 The Christian Life 

sary equipment of the true Christian life. To be 
a Christian of necessity means to be an anointed 
one^ and it is only when this is realised that the 
true Christian life is lived. 

The combination of these two elements must 
ever be kept in view — Union and Unction. The 
Christian is one who is united to Christ and 
anointed by Him. There is a great tendency to 
separate these two facts, and to rest the idea of 
the Christian life only on the former aspect, and 
to be content with our union with Christ. The 
Lord Jesus Christ is not only the Lamb of God 
which taketh away the sin of the world (John i. 
29), He is also the One Who baptizes with the 
Holy Ghost (John i. SS), The reason why there 
is so little power in many a professed Christian 
life is that there is no true conception of the need 
and power of the Holy Spirit as an essential part 
of genuine Christianity. When we look at the 
New Testament we can see that in the Apostolic 
Church every Christian was not only united to 
Christ by faith, but was also an active, aggressive 
worker, fully consecrated and endued with power 
from on high. Nothing short of this, nothing less 
than this, nothing other than this, is the meaning 
of the word "Christian'' or of the reality expressed 
by that term. 

The supreme question, then, for every reader 
is, "Am I a Christian?*' Have I accepted Christ 



What Is a Christian? 37 

as my Saviour? Have I accepted the Holy Ghost 
as my Sanctifier? Do I know the Lord Jesus 
Christ in the glory both of His mercy and of His 
power? What God hath joined together let no 
man put asunder, and a Christian must ever mean 
one who is "in Christ'' for salvation and satisfac- 
tion, and in whom Christ dwells for sanctification 
and service. 

How may each one become a Christian? How 
may this true relationship to Christ become ours? 
There are four steps: (a) Personal trust in 
Christ as my Saviour; (b) Personal surrender to 
Him as my Lord; (c,) Personal experience of the 
Holy Spirit through faith; (d) Personal service 
for Christ as my Master. 

"Then who this day will, rejoicing, say 
With a grateful heart and free. 
Thou King Divine, my life shall be Thine, 
I consecrate all to Thee?" 



CHAPTER IV; 
*'BBere Am I*' 

"Thou Shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.**— 
Isa. Iviii. 9. 

THE Bible is the revelation of God to man. 
It is also the record of man's response to that 
revelation. Human life finds its full realisation in 
the knowledge of and obedience to God's will. 
When man learns the will of God and fashions his 
life thereby, he has learnt the deepest secret of the 
universe and found the truest satisfaction. 

How may this be accomplished.'^ How may man 
start on the pathway of the will of God.^ In the 
three words which head this chapter, when they 
are rightly understood, we have the whole Bible in 
miniature. They offer what may be called a for- 
mula, which, when properly used, will reveal to 
mankind the secret of living, and it is hardly too 
much to say that everything else from Genesis to 
Revelation concerning God and man is simply the 
amplification of these three words. 

They are found several times in Scripture, trans- 
lated "Here I am,'' or "Here am I," and when the 
references are collected and classified, they illus- 
trate the threefold attitude of man to the will of 

38 



''Here Am r 39 

God. In one instance the words are spoken by 
God to man, in others they are spoken by man to 
God, while in several more they are spoken by 
man to man. We can therefore see in them the 
threefold aspect of human life as lived from God, 
to God and for God. 

As we consider the Christian life and try to 
realise something of its responsibilities and pos- 
sibilities, it will be well for us to ponder afresh 
the secret of true living, the way to meet not only 
the extraordinary, but, what is far more difficult, 
the ordinary demands of daily life. It is com- 
paratively easy to shine on great occasions and 
to meet special emergencies. It is not so easy to 
shine in ordinary duties and to meet the momen- 
tary requirements of everyday living. We need, 
it is true, our great experiences, "to mount up with 
wings as eagles." Nor must we be without power 
for times of exceptional pressure, "to run and not 
be weary." But far above all we need grace for 
the little things of life, "the daily round, the com- 
mon task," to "walk, and not faint" (Isa. xl. 31,). 

In many ways life is difficult and its problems 
complex, making heavy demands on heart, brain 
and body. But the difficulty and complexity can 
all be met by the simplicity and sufficiency of God's 
glorious provision in Christ as we see it revealed 
to us in the Scriptures of truth. 



40 The Chris tia/n Life 

The simplicity and sufficiency are well illus- 
trated in the short phrase now before us^ and if 
we can only enter into its full meaning and ap- 
plication we shall find it the secret of all true life 
• — a simple basal principle that touches and covers 
everything. **Here am I." God says it to man. 
Man says it to God. Man says it to man. It 
means^ first of all^ 

LIFE FROM GOD 

In Isaiah Iviii. 9. the phrase occurs with God 
as the speaker. "Thou shalt cry, and He shall 
say, Here I am." This is the answer of God to 
human need in the assurance of His presence. 
"Here I am." The gospel of the presence of God 
is the very core of the revelation of Christ. 

"Here I am." He is here for Pardon. "His pres- 
ence is salvation" (Psalm xlii. 5, marg.) This 
was so in the historical revelation of God in Christ. 
He did not send; He came. A Chinese catechist 
once depicted the sinner as fallen into a deep and 
dangerous pit, and helpless and hopeless. First 
came Confucius, and, looking down, said: "I am 
very sorry for you. If you get out of that, take 
care you do not fall in again." Next came Bud- 
dha, who, looking down in pity, said: "If only 
you could get up half way, I could come to meet 



''Here Am /" 41 

you half way^ and so raise you up." Last of all^ 
Jesus came hj, and went down to the very depth 
of that pit^ lifted up the poor^ wounded sinner^ 
"set his feet on a rock^ and established his goings/' 

When Christ came to Bethlehem and Calvary 
it was God saying and showing in blessed reality, 
"Here am I." 

It is the unique and crowning glory of Chris- 
tianity that it saves mankind by the presence of 
God in the world. In no other religion or religious 
system is the presence of God a reality in human 
life. In Mohammedanism He is exalted far above 
man and entirely separated from human sins and 
needs. In Btiddhism he is lost in the world of 
nature and has no personal contact with human 
hearts. In Mohammedanism God is lost to man 
by reason of His transcendence, and in Buddhism 
by reason of His supposed immanence. The same 
results accrue from the Unitarian conception of 
God, and are also manifest in the various philo- 
sophical systems which occupy much of human 
thought today. God is either regarded as dwelling 
in solitary abstraction and out of all touch with 
human life, or else He is absorbed in the created 
world, and in no sense a power over individual 
hearts. 

Only in Christianity are the two great comple- 
mentary truths of God's transcendence and im- 
manence preserved, reconciled and balanced. God 



42 The Christian Life 

is assuredly transcendent in all the glory of His 
unique splendour and divine majesty, but He is 
also immanent, divinely and blessedly present, in 
the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Holy 
Spirit. The Christian revelation of the Holy Trin- 
ity alone preserves God to us as a personal pres- 
ence and a practical power. "Here I am" is the 
simple yet adequate expression of the revelation 
of God in Christ. **I am/' teaches us the trans- 
cendence. "Here I am/* reveals the immanence. 
The first chapter of the Old Testament brings us 
the former : **In the beginning God created.'* The 
first chapter of the New Testament reveals to us 
the latter: "Emmanuel, God with us." 

This historical revelation of the presence of God 
is realised and crowned in the individual applica- 
tion of it to every man. "Here am I" is true not 
only historically but of each one personally. It 
is the approach of God to the soul that brings sal- 
vation. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." 
It is none other than God Himself who pleads, and 
seeks to lead the soul to Himself. "If any man 
hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in 
to him." The Holy Spirit is present now, striving 
with every soul, and to each one He says, "Here 
am I." 

"And His that gentle voice we hear 
Soft as the breath of even." 



""Here Am r 48 

To every sinner comes the message^ "The Word 
is nigh thee/' Man has not to strive and climb 
in order to reach up to God and find Him. God 
is here, waiting to be gracious, not willing that 
any should lose or miss Him. And it is the en- 
trance of God into the soul that really constitutes 
salvation. He does not send a gift: He comes 
Himself. Salvation is not so much a gift as the 
presence of the Divine Giver. "Here am I." 

"Here I am." He is here for Power, Forgive- 
ness is the first but not the only need of man. He 
requires grace for the present as well as pardon 
for the past. The sin of the past needs forgive- 
ness, but the sinful nature of the present needs 
grace, and for this God says "Here I am." For 
every need of life, actual and possible, for every 
conceivable circumstance, God says, "Here I am." 
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee" (Isa. xli. 10). 
To every believer^ however difficult his pathway, 
God says, "My grace IS sufficient for thee," and 
in this blessed present fact is perfect provision 
for "all things that pertain to life and godli- 
ness." It was so with the three men in the fire 
in Babylon: there was One with them Who said, 
"Here I am." 

"Here I am.'* He is here for Guidance. The 
way of life is not always straight, and the believer 
needs guidance and wisdom as much as the Israel- 
ite of old. What Israel had in symbol, we now 



44 The Christian- Life 

have in reality, for the pillar of cloud and pil- 
lar of fire are still with us in the presence of God 
in Christ. Christ is **made unto us wisdom'' and 
the Spirit is ''the Spirit of Truth/' "I am the 
light ... he that foUoweth Me shall . . . have 
the Light." 

''Here I am." This also means Courage, "li 
will be with thee" was the word of cheer to Joshua. 
"The Lord is with thee" was the inspiration to 
Gideon. "The Lord stood with me" was the com- 
fort of St. Paul. So has it been throughout the 
ages. "Saints, apostles, prophets, martyrs," yea, 
and the unknown millions of ordinary believers in 
all centuries have known the blessedness of "Here 
am I" spoken by God to their hearts^ and have 
found in the presence of God courage^ strength, 
joy and blessing. 

"Here I am" is the assurance of Peace, "In 
Me ye might have peace." The "peace of God" 
is God's own presence as the "God of peace." 
Peace in every sense of the word is guaranteed 
to us not so much as a gift but rather as a Pres- 
ence, the presence of "the Lord of Peace Himself." 

"Here I am'' is the inspiration of Hope, "Christ 
in you the hope." As we look forward to the 
future, the guarantee of all our expectation is the 
presence of Christ in our hearts now. We shall 
be with Him then because He is with us now. We 
shall be like Him then because He is in us now. 



''Here Am /" 45 

All our future glories are based on present grace^ 
and of that grace the presence of God is the only 
source and perennial fountain. 

Truly then as we realise what **Here I am*' 
means as a word from God to us^ "His presence 
is salvation/' in every aspect of that great word. 
Salvation from past guilt, salvation through pres- 
ent grace, salvation in future glory. Glory to 
God for His presence now and ever. 

And God says **Here I am" to everyone who 
needs and seeks Him. He says it by His Word 
and His Spirit. The Bible from end to end is 
full of the definite personal revelations of God to 
His servants, **Here I am." And as He is the 
same "yesterday, to-day, and for ever,'* that faith- 
ful word is ours to-day, which assures us of His 
perpetual presence in, and with, and for. His 
people. As well may we doubt our own existence 
as doubt the fact and assurance of His presence. 
To us as to the disciples God says in the plainest 
language: **Lo! I am with you all the days." 

"This ray of promise falls on darkened ways, 
*Lo, I am with you alway — all the days; 
The bright, untroubled, gladsome days of life. 
The days of bitterness and care and strife. 

The days when peace doth like a river flow. 
The days of grief with weary hours and slow; 
He goes not on far journeys. Christ is near. 
He leaves no day without its help and cheer. 



"46 The Christian Life 

As once of old, 'He knew what He would do,' 
When servants were dismayed and troubled too; 
So now, with infinite supplies at hand, 
He walks with us, though in a barren land. 

Some sweet surprise He doubtless has in store. 
Some secret that Hie never told before. 
For this, perhaps. He leads through shaded ways, 
And you will understand ere many days." 

Now follows naturally another meaning of these 
three words in view of their use by man in rela- 
tion to God, 



LIFE TO GOD 

We find them first of all as the words of Abra- 
ham spoken to God (Gten. xxii. i), and they are 
used elsewhere on several occasions in the same 
connection. They indicate the keynote of all true 
life, a life lived to God. They denote the re- 
sponse of the soul to God's revelation of Himself. 
God says "Here I am'' to man, and then man 
welcomes this and responds with **Here am I" to 
God. 

The words imply Surrender. When the believer 
says "Here am I" to God, he places himself at 
God's disposal. This whole-hearted response is 
the natural outcome of the reception of God's rev- 
elation to the soul. We can see this truth on 
every page of the New Testament. God comes 



'Here Am r 



47 



to the soul, enters the heart and life, and then 
man yields himself entirely to God as belonging 
to Him. "Ye are not your own, ye are bought/' 
This is the meaning of St. PauFs great word trans- 
lated "yield'' in Rom. vi. 13, 19, and "present" 
in ch. xii. 1. In the latter passage the Apostle 
bases his exhortation on the "mercies of God," on 
the revelation of God saying "Here I am" to man, 
and after urging his readers to "present" their 
bodies as a sacrifice to God he speaks of this sur- 
render as their "logical service," the rational, logi- 
cal, necessary outcome of their acceptance of "the 
mercies of God." The Gospel does not come to 
the soul simply for personal enjoyment, it comes 
to awaken in it a sense of its true life and mar- 
vellous possibilities. Consequently, when God says 
to the believer, "I am thine," the believer responds, 
"I am Thine" (Psalm cxix. 94), "I am the Lord's" 
(Isa. xliv. 5). This was one part of the purpose 
of our Lord's redemption work, "that He might be 
Lord" and now, "we are the Lord's" (Rom. xiv. 
8 and 9). This whole-hearted response should be 
made from the first moment of acceptance in and 
of Christ. "Christ is all" to us from the outset; 
and we should be "all to Him." There should be 
no hiatus, no gap, no interval, between the accept- 
ance of Christ as Saviour and the surrender to 
Him as Lord. His full title is "Jesus Christ our 
Lord"; and the full extent of its meaning (though 



48 The Christian Life 

of course not its full depth) is intended to be real- 
ised from our very first experience of His saving 
presence and power. And if we have never real- 
ised this^ and if we have been^ at least in measure^ 
enjoying His grace without yielding to Him His 
full rights^ now is the time to bow before Him^ and 
with a definite act of loving trust and surrender to 
say, "Lord Jesus, here am I." 

This initial act of surrender, however, is but the 
beginning of a life of surrender. The act must 
develop into an attitude. This has been recognised 
by God's true children in all ages as their *'bounden 
duty and service/' 

It was evidently the attitude of Abraham when 
God proved him. From the day in which he re- 
sponded, however imperfectly, to God's call in 
Chaldea, he was learning new lessons, sometimes 
painful but always blessed, and was discovering 
more and more of the glories of His covenant God 
(Gen. xxi. S3). Then when the new and supreme 
test came he was able to respond^ in prompt and 
full surrender, "Here am I." 

Jacob realised the same claim of God, and made 
the same whole-hearted response when he heard 
the voice of God in Syria, and said, "Here am I" 
(Glen. xxxi. 11). And yet again, on his return 
from Canaan, when fresh lessons were to be learnt, 
he answered, "Here am I'* (Gen. xlvi. 2). It is 
the secret of all peace in the Christian life as it is 



''Here Am r 49 

also the source of all power. It places the soul 
in the right attitude before God and it keeps 
it there. Shall we not therefore fulfil this blessed 
condition as we read these lines? Shall we not 
"offer and present our souls and bodies to be a 
reasonable^ holy, and lively sacrifice" to God? 
Surely we must, we will this instant definitely, 
deliberately and determinedly yield ourselves to 
our God and say, "Here am I." 

"Here I am,'* spoken to God, involves Service, 
Our surrender naturally leads to service for God. 
His possession of us means His use of us. We 
see this in the life of Moses when he responded 
"Here am I'' to the call of God (Ex. iii. 4), for 
the surrender was followed by life-long work. 
Isaiah exemplifies the same experience, for his 
"Here am I'* is at once followed by "send me'* 
(Isa. vi. 8). God has a work for each of His 
children. We are not only sons but servants. In 
that earliest church whose life is recorded in the 
book of Acts there was no distinction between 
"Christians" and "church workers," for every 
Christian was necessarily a worker. A well-known 
handbook now used for tabulating church work 
has a large section headed "Communicants who are 
not Workers." What a sad commentary on un- 
faithfulness among "those who profess and call 
themselves Christians"! Every believer is in- 



50 The Christian Life 

tended to be a worker and to respond by lip and 
life^ "Here am I/' 

This response clearly demands readiness in the 
two senses of that word. It means willingness and 
preparedness. "Here am I'* is the utterance of 
the man who has received Christ Jesus as Lord, 
and who longs to show by every possible means 
the reality and blessedness of that experience. It 
is the heartfelt response of the willing servant 
who directly the call comes says with Joshua, 
"What saith my Lord unto His servant.^*' (Josh. 
V. 14). It is the deep and increasing conviction 
of the heart and conscience that "I am Thine" 
means and includes "I am Thy servant." Like 
St. Paul of old, the believer not only says, "I am 
debtor," but also following it, "I am ready" (Rom. 
i. 14, 15). 

This willingness to serve naturally leads to pre- 
paredness for work. "Here am I" suggests fit- 
ness, that is, a condition of soul which makes it 
"meet for the Master's use" (2 Tim. ii. 21). And 
the very surrender already referred to is the secret 
of this fitness; for by it the soul is in such an 
attitude before God that He can endue it vn\h 
all needed grace and power, and render it "pre- 
pared unto every good work." Both ideas of 
readiness therefore enter into this response of the 
soul as it surrenders to God and waits on Him for 
service, saying, "Here am I." 



''Here Am r 51 

This is the sevenfold readiness depicted in the 
New Testament: 

Ready to preach (Rom. i. 15). 
Ready to give an answer (1 Pet. iii. 15). 
Ready to distribute (1 Tim. vi. 18). 
Ready to every good work (Titus iii. 1). 
Ready to be offered (2 Tim. iv. 6). 
Ready to die (Acts xxi. 13). 
Ready for the coming (Matt. xxiv. 44^ and 
xxvi. 10). 
And it is all summed up in — 

Readiness of mind (Acts xvii. 11,). 
Readiness of will (2 Cor. viii. 11). 

This response will assuredly issue in Satisfac- 
tion. "Here am I*' not only deals with facts, the 
facts of God's possession of us and of our accept- 
ance of His will, but also involves and implies the 
conscious realisation of the facts in all their deep 
joy and peace. The soul not only says, *'I am 
Thine/' but knows by experience the rest and 
strength of it. David knew what this meant when 
he said, "Behold, here am I; let Him do to me as 
seemeth good to Him" (2 Sam. xv. 26). 

This satisfaction is due to the consciousness not 
only of God's will accepted, but also of God's will 
done. In proportion to our obedience will be our 
inward satisfaction. There is no joy comparable 



62 The Christian Life 

with that which results from the consciousness of 
God's possession of us^ and of our loyalty to Him. 
When we from the heart say, *'Here am I," we 
begin to know the joy and strength and bliss of 
true service for Him *Vhose service is" perfect 
freedom"; indeed we find the truth and the joy 
of the terse phrase of the old Latin collect: *'Whom 
to serve is to reign." 

Shall not this surrender, this service, this satis- 
faction be a reality all our days? Let us think 
of the work waiting to be done, **new stations to 
be filled and blanks supplied" at home and abroad. 
Let us try to realise the millions who have not 
so much as heard whether there be a Saviour, and 
then with all our hearts respond, "Here am I, send 
me." Shall we not now say it? *'Here am I." 
And if we have already done so, shall we not joy- 
fully renew our consecration? Shall we not liter- 
ally say it to God this moment? And then we will 
keep continually saying it as day after day comes 
with all the sweet surprises and glorious possibili- 
ties of fellowship and service. 

I am the Lord's ! O joy beyond expression, 
O sweet response to voice of love divine; 

Faith's joyous "Yes" to the assuring whisper, 
"Fear not: I have redeemed thee; thou art Mine." 

This the transforming word which faith receiveth, 

The message which the child-like soul believeth. 



''Here Am r 53 

I am the Lord's ! It nushes every murmur. 
It soothes the fevered spirit to its rest; 

I am the Lord's ! It is the child's rejoinder, 
Who knows and feels the Father's will is best; 

The first glad cry of soul emancipation. 

The highest note of praise and exultation. 

I am the Lord's I Yet teach me all it meaneth. 

All it involves of love and loyalty. 
Of holy service, absolute surrender. 

And unreserved obedience unto Thee. 
They nearest draw to joy's sublime perfection. 
Who seek it in the depths of full subjection. 

Our phrase "Here am V culminates in a third 
meaning when it is spoken by man to man^ for it 
means 

LIFE FOR GOD 

We find "Here am I** used by man in speaking 
to his fellows^ and in this sense the words are the 
natural and necessary outcome of the two former 
uses of it. When we receive from God and re- 
spond to God^ we naturally express our life in 
service for man for God's sake. "Here am I." 

The words indicate our Loyalty, Esau said them 
to Isaac (Gen. xxvii. 1), and Isaac to Jacob (verse 
18) in the spirit of true loyalty one to another. 
The child Samuel said "Here am I*' to the aged 
Eli (1 Sam. iii. 8) as expressive of his genuine 



54 



The Christian Life 



readiness to be at the beck and call of his master. 
They seem to spring instinctively to the lips of 
true men when others call. They reveal the atti- 
tude of those who have learnt the secret of the 
only real ''service of humanity," the service of man 
for the sake of Christ. Loyalty to Christ brings 
with it loyalty to man for whom Christ died; and 
wherever there is a human being needing help, 
there the true Christian heart will run, with its 
glad "Here am I." We need more and more of 
this readiness to be at the service of our fellows, 
for it is by our service for our brother that we 
best prove our loyalty to our Lord. 

The words also express our Love, When Abra- 
ham said *'Here am I" to his son Isaac (Gen. xxii. 
7), he spoke in tender love, and, as it were, put 
himself at his son's disposal. His readiness was 
based on love, as all true service must be. Our 
loyalty to others finds its only adequate basis in 
love — love to God, love to the brotherhood, love to 
humanity. We can only say *'Here am I" to our 
fellows when, and so far as, the love of God is 
pulsating through our being and impelling us to 
service. No man can truly serve his brother whom 
he sees unless he first love God whom he does not 
see. It is the constraint of love, deep, strong, con- 
stant, that impels, yea, compels a man to say to all 
around him, "Here am I." 

And of course all this will involve Labour, Loy- 



''Here Am /" 58 

alty and love are not mere emotions, but mastering 
energies. They are not simple feelings, but solid 
facts. They are not summed up in dreamy senti- 
ments, but in definite sacrifices. In the Bible loy- 
alty and love are always expressed in acts and 
facts, not in mere aspirations and fancies. **God 
so loved the world that He gave," Christ loved 
the Church, . . . and gave.'' "Who loved me, 
and gave," So must it be with us. Love is proved 
by labour, by service, by the expenditure of 
thought, prayer, effort, yea, of our very selves. 
This is the true attitude of the believer as he 
stands witnessing for God to others. The whole 
of his life is just speaking to all around: "Let me 
serve you in any possible way." "Here am I." 

Have we ever literally said this to any of our 
fellowmen.'^ Have we ever expressed our wish- 
fulness and willingness to be of use to them? Still 
better, have we ever shown it in our life by our 
readiness to serve them.'* This is the supreme 
test of reality, our willingness to live for others 
and thereby alone truly to live for Grod. The 
world will not be much impressed merely by our 
knowledge, clear and full though it may be. It 
will only be influenced when our knowledge is in- 
carnated and realised in action. Nothing short of 
self-sacrificing service will suffice. This and this 
alone will impress and attract men, the attitude of 
the Christian to whom God is so real, and Christ 



56 The Christian Life 

so precious^ and the Spirit so powerful, that he 
cannot but say to his fellows, "Here am I/' 

If I can live 

To make some pale face brighter, and to give 
A second lustre to some tear-dimmed eye. 
Or e'en impart 

One throb of comfort to an aching heart, 
Or cheer some wayworn soul in passing by; 

If I can lend 

A strong hand to the fallen, or defend 

The right hand 'gainst a single envious strain, 
My life, though bare 

Perhaps of much that seemeth dear and fair. 
To us on earth, will not have been in vain. 

The purest joy. 

Most near to heaven, far from earth's alloy. 
Is bidding clouds give way to sun and shine: 
And 'twill be well 

If on that day of days the angels tell 

Of me: "She did her best for one of Thine." 

Is it not therefore correct to say that in this short 
phrase of three words we have the whole Bible in 
miniature? Life received from God; Life yielded 
to God; Life lived for God. What more can we 
have.^ Time and eternity are summed up therein. 
It remains to notice still more closely the inti- 
mate and necessary connection between these three 
uses of the one phrase, **Here am I." The first 



''Here Am /" 57 

is the foundation of the other two. It is only as 
God reveals Himself that we can respond to Him 
or receive grace to serve our fellowmen. The 
brotherhood of man presupposes and demands as 
its necessary basis the Fatherhood of God. The 
only adequate motive power for true service be- 
tween man and man is the revelation of God's 
grace in Christ. Altruism is only really possible 
and actually powerful in the light of Calvary. 

The second use of "Here am I" is the pivot of 
the other two. It is only as we answer God's rev- 
elation that the revelation becomes effectual in 
our experience^ or energetic in our service. The 
grace of God has been so conditioned that it re- 
quires human reception and response before it can 
become effective. It is sufficient for all the human 
race; but it only becomes efficient in those who 
welcome it to heart and life. 

The third use of "Here am I*' is the crown of 
the other two. All God's grace is for practical 
use_, and not for mere speculation or simple enjoy- 
ment. Service is at once our duty and our glory; 
and the revelation of God's presence is only truly 
seen when the lives of His people are full of lov- 
ing labour for the needy and sinful of this world. 

Let us then realise fully our position of blessed- 
ness and blessing. Every moment God says, "Here 
am I" in His nearness to save, and keep, and bless. 
Every moment we should reply "Here am I," in 



68 The Christian Life 

our readiness^ our willingness^ our wishfulness, our 
determination to surrender and to serve. Every 
moment we should show by our life^ and whenever 
we can^ say with our lips^ ''Here am I" in our 
attitude of loving alacrity to serve our fellows. 

This is true Christianity; this is full Christian- 
ity; this is powerful Christianity; this is Christ- 
like Christianity; this is the Christianity that 
blesses and transforms man^ wins for Christ the 
souls for whom He died^ and abides to all eternity 
to the glory and praise of God. 

"To me to live is Christ" — and yet the days 
Are days of toiling men : 
We rise at morn, and tread the beaten ways. 
And lay us down again. 

How is it that this base, unsightly life. 

Can yet be Christ alone? 
Our common need, and weariness, and strife. 

While common days wear on? 

Then saw I how before a Master wise, 

A shapeless stone was set; 
He said, "Therein a form of beauty lies. 

Though none behold it yet. 

When all beside it shall be hewn away. 

That glorious shape shall stand. 
In beauty of the everlasting day. 

Of the unsullied land." 



CHAPTER V 

"I Serve" 

"I am among- you as he that serveth." — Luke xxii. 27. 
"Ye serve the Lord Christ." — Col. iii. 24. 

THE motto of the Prince of Wales is a short 
but very expressive one: '*! serve/' At first 
sight it may seem peculiar that "I serve" should 
be the motto of a prince^ but a prince is never 
more really a prince than when he is giving him- 
self to the service of others. The true prince is 
a servant. The true servant is a prince. The 
highest position in life is not only not demeaned 
by being employed for the good of others^ but, on 
the contrary, it is dignified and glorified by serv- 
ice for God and man. 

Service is one of the primary objects of Chris- 
tianity. All the blessings and privileges of the 
Gospel of Christ are intended for the purpose of 
promoting the glory of God and the good of man 
by means of true service. *'That we, being de- 
livered out of the hand of our enemies, might 
serve ..." (Luke i. 74). 

There is, however, something far higher than 
this. Our Lord Himself became a "Servant" in 
order to be our Saviour. In the Old Testament 

69 



60 The Christian Life 

our Lord is called **the Servant of Jehovah^*' and 
in the New Testament He is described as having 
taken "the form of a servant/' In order to do the 
will of God and redeem mankind^ it was necessary 
for Him to hiunble Himself and become a "Serv- 
ant/' so that along the pathway of service He 
might come to that Cross which was at once the 
exemplification of devoted duty, redeeming grace, 
and Divine love. 

This revelation of our Lord as the true Servant 
is specially connected with the prophecy of Isaiah. 
The figure of the Servant of Jehovah in Isaiah 
xl.-lxvi. is the unique and magnificent contribution 
of that evangelical prophet to the prophetic revela- 
tion of the Messiah. In a series of chapters, from 
xli.-liii. various aspects of the Servant are brought 
before us ; He is a Divine Messenger, a Prophetic 
Witness, a Suffering Martyr, a Sacrificial Victim, 
and a Victorious King, Yet in all these offices He 
is essentially and predominantly the Servant. 

This idea of the Messiah as Servant finds its 
beautiful fulfilment in the New Testament in the 
revelation of Jesus of Nazareth, Son of Man and 
Son of God. From His earliest recorded word, 
"I must be about My Father's business," we have 
illustration after illustration of our Lord as the 
Servant of God. "I came down from heaven, not 
to do Mine own will, but to do the will of Him 
that sent Me": "The Son of Man came not to be 



"/ Serve'' 61 

ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His 
life a ransom for many/' And in the earliest New 
Testament Christology, in the Acts of the Apostles 
immediately after Pentecost, the prevailing con- 
ception of the exalted Christ in the minds of those 
early Christians is that of the Servant of the Lord 
(Acts iv. 27, SO). 

This conception of our Lord as the Servant 
of Jehovah is necessarily something far more and 
deeper than a mere picture or revelation of Divine 
love and perfect service. It is intended to have 
a practical effect on all who profess and call them- 
selves followers of Christ. The "Servant of God" 
is the Master of men, and His Service which 
wrought their salvation also bought their lives ; and 
now the Apostolic word says: '*Ye are not your 
own, for ye are bought with a price: therefore 
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which 
are God's" (1 Cor. vi. 19, 20). 

What, then, are His claims on His followers? 
We will answer this question in one sentence, and 
then illustrate the answer in various ways from the 
Word of God. What are His claims ? Every fact 
in the life of Christ is intended to be a factor in 
the life of Christians. Of these facts we shall 
mention nine, which are nine stages in the revela- 
tion of Christ, and then try to show how these 
constitute nine factors and make a ninefold claim 



62 The Christian Life 

on our lives. Every fact conveys a truth^ and 
every truth makes a claim. Each of these facts 
carries a revelation^ and each revelation is intended 
to elicit a response in our lives. 

OUR lord's incarnation 

The Incarnation is a revelation of Supreme Con- 
descension. **Who^ being in the form of God, 
counted not equality with God a thing to be re- 
tained as a prize^ but emptied Himself, taking the 
form of a servant, being made in the likeness of 
man; and being found in fashion as a man He 
humbled Himself." 

This stupendous act of Divine condescension 
makes a very definite claim upon us, and calls for 
a respK)nse of Deepest Humility, "Let this mind 
be in you vrhich was also in Christ Jesus." Hu- 
mility of mind, heart, and soul is one of the funda- 
mental requirements of true Christianity, Augus- 
tine was asked: "What is the first step to heaven?" 
He answered: "Humility." "And the second 
step?" "Humility." "And the third step?" "Hu- 
mility." Humility has been well defined by Caro- 
line Fry, in her invaluable little book Christ our 
Example, as "unconscious self-forgetfulness." 
Mark the force and depth in that thought of the 
unconsciousness of our humility, for conscious hu- 



"/ Serve'' 63 

mility is none other than the most terrible form of 
pride. The servant of God who realises most fully 
what His Master did in becoming incarnate will 
ever remember that unconscious self-effacement is 
the one great requisite of all true work for God. 
"He must increase^ but I must decrease." 

OUR lord's earthly ministry 

The earthly ministry is a revelation of Devoted 
Work, Our Lord inaugurated His ministry by His 
act of consecration in the rite of baptism, with its 
keynote, "Thus it becometh us to fulfil all right- 
eousness,'* and all through the three years, service 
for God was the dominant note. His preaching, 
His miracles. His training of the twelve Apostles, 
all meant work. The entire picture of Jesus in 
the Gospel of St. John is that of One Whose su- 
preme desire and determination were to do the will 
of God. "I must work the works of Him that 
sent Me while it is day" was His constant thought, 
until at the end He is able to say, "I have finished 
the work which Thou gavest me to do." 

This revelation makes its claim upon us, and is 
intended to elicit a response of Whole-hearted Con- 
secration, "For their sakes I consecrate Myself, 
that they may be consecrated through the Truth." 
The Lord's earthly ministry is a call to steadfast 



64 The Christian Life 

purpose^ to strenuous endeavour^ and to genuine 
work for our Master. 

"That all our powers with all their might. 
Id His sole glory may unite." 

OUR lord's example 

Christ's example is a revelation of Perfect Man- 
hood. It was the manifestation of what human 
nature was intended to be^ and what it can be by 
the grace of God. "Who did no sin." This is 
the negative aspect of His example. **I do always 
those things which please Him." This is the posi- 
tive side. The absence of sin and the presence of 
righteousness are God's purpose for us also, and 
this revelation of our Lord's perfect life makes a 
claim on us, and is intended to elicit a response of 
Holy Character. "Leaving us an example, that 
ye should follow His steps." Conduct is the ex- 
pression of character, character is the result of 
goodness, and goodness is the outcome of continual 
contact with God. "He was a good man," is the 
highest tribute paid, or possible to be paid, to 
anyone. "The fruit of the Spirit is goodness," 
and nothing can make up for the lack of this all- 
embracing element. Orthodoxy, privilege, oppor- 
tunity, are all intended only as means towards 
goodness, and the example of our Lord is a stand- 



"/ Serve'' 65 

ing testimony to the demand for and possibility 
and power of holiness of life and goodness of 
character. 

OUR lord's death 

His death is a revelation of Unutterable Love, 
The Lord's death is first and foremost an atoning 
sacrifice^ and as such is absolutely unique; but 
there are aspects of this death which we are called 
to imitate. As a revelation of love it makes a 
claim upon us^ and is intended to elicit a response 
of Grateful Self -sacrifice. "Hereby perceive we 
the love of God^ because He laid down His life 
for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the 
brethren." Here is the great obligation^ '*We 
ought''; here is the great source of that great obli- 
gation^ "Beloved^ if God so loved us, we ought 
also to love one another." In the death of our 
Lord we have the highest expression of love; 
''Greater love hath no man than this, that a man 
lay down his life for his friends." That love 
binds us to Him with cords of devotion. *'We 
love, because He first loved us" (R.V.), and in 
loving service even unto death we shall "fill up 
that which is behind in the afflictions of Christ for 
His body's sake, the Church," and reveal to the 
world the greatest of all powers, the power of 
loving self-sacrifice. 



66 The Christian Life 

OUR lord's resurrection 

His resurrection is a revelation of Absolute 
Lordship. He was thereby ** declared to be the 
Son of God with power/' The Servant of God 
becomes the Lord of man^ and this revelation 
makes its claim upon us^ and is intended to elicit 
a response of Unquestioning Obedience. **To this 
end^ Christ both died and rose again and revived^ 
that He might be Lord/' Through that Resurrec- 
tion^ and because of it^ we are to yield Him our 
unquestioning allegiance and entire obedience. 
"Jesus Christ our Lord" is the favourite designa- 
tion of the Apostle Paul^ "My Lord and my God" 
is the adoring submissive confession of Thomas. 
"Lord and Saviour" is Peter's repeated title of his 
Master. "Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye 
say well; for so I am/' So He is; and as we real- 
ise this and yield Him our loving loyalty, we shall 
find the peace and joy, the power and blessing of 
the resurrection of Him Whom God hath raised up 
as the Servant of Jehovah^ the Lord of Mankind. 

our lord's ascension 

The Ascension is a revelation of Heavenly Pro- 
vision, It was the closing and crowning act of Our 
Lord's earthly Work, and His entrance upon the 
larger sphere of heavenly service on our behalf. 



"/ Serve'' 67 

Though He sat down on the right hand of the 
Majesty on high, it does not mean that He is in- 
active or at ease in that exalted position. He as- 
cended as Priest; He abides there as Priest and 
King. This revelation makes a claim upon us, 
and is intended to elicit a response of Spiritual 
Fellowship. The Ascension means entrance into 
the holiest, not only for our Lord, but for us. It 
means access, liberty, fellowship, power, and bless- 
ing; and hence the Epistle to the Hebrews can 
say: "Wehavea great High Priest; therefore let 
us hold fast,'* **We have a High Priest; therefore 
let us come boldly.'' "We have a High Priest; 
therefore let us draw near, let us hold fast, let 
us consider one another." The fact that through 
the Ascension we have all these privileges and 
blessings should be the means and incentive to 
spiritual blessing, spiritual fellowship, and spirit- 
ual influence. We rob ourselves of blessing, 
strength, and joy if we do not see in the fact of 
the Ascension not merely the opportunity of com- 
plete spiritual provision, but an absolute duty to 
appropriate and use that provision for the illumi- 
nation and satisfaction of our lives. 

OUR lord's PENTECOSTAL GIFT 

Pentecost is a revelation of Supernatural Power. 
On the day of Pentecost came the gift of the risen 
Christ, and this meant spiritual power. **Having 



68 The Christian Life 

received of the Father the promise of the Spirit, 
He hath shed forth this/' and the revelation of 
Pentecost makes its claim upon us^ and is intended 
to elicit a response of Absolute Dependence. 
Pentecost means power to live, to labour, to love; 
power to work, to witness, to wait ; power to serve, 
to stand, to suffer; power *'to resist, to insist, to 
persist''; power, if needs be, to die. *'Not by 
might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the 
Lord of Hosts." The provision of Pentecost is 
ample; and if we are straitened it is in ourselves, 
not in Him. The gift of the Spirit means provi- 
sion for every need and every emergency. It 
means that Our Lord's Divine Power has provided 
for us all things that pertain to life, godliness and 
service, and that there is no excuse for barrenness 
or unfruitfulness. Work done in the energy of 
the flesh or in the power of a mere human enthusi- 
asm will fail, but work done in the power of the 
Spirit will abide and abound and glorify God; 
and if we would realise this, and rest entirely for 
all holiness and all service on the gift of the ex- 
alted Christ, our lives would be ''satisfied with 
favour, full with the blessing of the Lord,*' and 
"thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 

OUR lord's present life in heaven 

The present life of our Lord in Heaven is a 
revelation of His Perpetual Presence, Most mod- 



"/ Serve'' 69 

ern Lives of Christ begin with Bethlehem and end 
at Olivet, but the New Testament begins earlier 
and continues later. There is nothing more defi- 
nite, clear and unmistakable in the New Testa- 
ment than the truth of our Lord's present life and 
service in heaven. His work on earth is finished, 
but not so His work in heaven. He intercedes. He 
bestows the Spirit, He guides the Church, He is 
interested in individuals. He uses His people. He 
controls affairs. We hear a great deal of going 
*'Back to Christ/' The truer expression is *'Up to 
Christ''; to the Christ on the throne — the living, 
exalted, and ever-present Lord. The Book of the 
Acts of the Apostles is really the Book of the Acts 
of the Ascended Christ; and this revelation of our 
Lord-s perpetual presence makes its claim upon 
us, and is intended to elicit a response of Evan- 
gelistic Enterprise, It is the claim upon us to 
evangelise the world, to preach the Gospel to every 
creature. He said, "Lo, I am with you alway," 
and because of this we are commanded to go into 
all the world. And so we read of those earliest dis- 
ciples that "they went forth and preached every- 
where, the Lord working with them.'* This is our 
highest warranty our complete justification, our ade- 
quate guarantee, our perfect power for world-wide 
missionary work, the presence with us of the loving 
and Divine Lord. How can we, how dare we 
shrink from the fulfilment of His great mission, 



70 The Christian Life 

when He has provided for us all things that per- 
tain to the fulfilment of His own command ! How 
can we talk of retrenchment when "all things are 
ours'* and ''all power" is given to Christ for us? 

OUR LORD^S SECOND COMING 

We may call this a "fact" because of its cer- 
tainty. Prophecy is history written beforehand. 
With God promise is reality^ truth is fact. His 
Second Coming is a revelation of Eternal King- 
ship. In the coming of the Lord is the hope of 
the world. It is not the "larger hope" but the 
"blessed hope" that is the true and substantial 
hope of God's people and all humanity; and this 
revelation of eternal Kingship makes its claim upon 
us_, and is intended to elicit a response of Joyful 
Confidence, We are to live and work in the light 
of this glorious day. It will give tone and power 
to our ser^ice^ it ^vill save us from despair^ it will 
give fibre and force to all our endeavours, it will 
make us radiantly optimistic and never gloomily 
pessimistic. Not for an instant must we ever be 
discouraged, even by the gravest problems in the 
present condition of the world. "He must reign. 
He will reign^ He shall reign." There must be no 
looking backward^ even to what are called the 
"good old days." Doubtless they were good old 
days; but as God is true, as Christ is real, as the 



"/ Serve'' 71 

Spirit is powerful^ the present days are better, 
and the best are yet to come. Never must we 
tremble for the ark of God, though we may well 
tremble for everything else. "Cease ye from man/' 
and live and work only in the light of that "glorious 
day that is coming by-and-by." 

These nine facts should constitute powerful fac- 
tors in our lives. Each one by itself is strong, and 
might well have been taken as the topic for a pro- 
longed Bible study and meditation, but it is also 
wise and necessary to dwell upon them together in 
summary form, in order to show that their force 
is cumulative, and absolutely overwhelming. Our 
Lord's claim upon us presses us at every point. 
The Incarnation calls for lowliness; the Ministry 
calls for labour; the Example calls for likeness; 
the Death calls for love; the Resurrection calls for 
loyalty; the Ascension calls for liberty; and the 
present Life in heaven, with the perpetual gift 
of Pentecost, provides life, full, free, and abun- 
dant, as we live in the light of the promise of the 
glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour. 

What, then, shall be our response to this mar- 
vellous claim .^ The world and the Church wait to 
see something of the infinite possibilities of the 
life of the true Christian. Four great words of the 
New Testament surely sum up our responsibility. 
Be it ours to realise them in all their fulness of 
meaning. "I should"; "I ought"; "I must"; "T 



72 The Christian Life 

will.*' That is^ I am inclined to respond^ I am im- 
pelled to respond^ I am compelled to respond, I 
am determined to respond. Be it ours to follow 
the great Apostle, who could first say, **I am 
debtor/' and then, "I am ready." Be it ours to 
remember what the mother of our Lord said to the 
servants: '^Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it." 
Be it ours to say what David's followers said to 
their Master: "Thy servants are ready to do 
whatsoever my Lord the King shall appoint." 



CHAPTER VI 

Walking with God 

"Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" — 
Amos iii. 3. 

THE Christian life is described and illustrated 
in Holy Scripture by means of several facul- 
ties and actions of the human body. Sometimes the 
eye is used: ''Look unto Me^ and be ye saved" 
(Isa. xlv. 22), At other times the ear is men- 
tioned: ''Hear, and your soul shall live" (Isa. Iv. 
S). Yet again we have the hand: "Let him take 
hold of my strength (Isa. xxvii. 5). And not in- 
frequently the mouth is employed: ''O taste and 
see that the Lord is good" (Ps. xxxiv. 8,). But 
perhaps the commonest^ and in some respects the 
most suggestive, is the illustration of the *Valk" 
which is found very frequently both in the Old 
and the New Testaments. In the short Epistle to 
the Ephesians the metaphor of ''walking" is found 
no less than seven times. There is a remarkable 
appropriateness in this use of the metaphor of 
walking to express the Christian life. Walking 
is one of the few perfect forms of exercise^ those 
in which all parts of the body are brought into 
play; and its suggestiveness and appropriateness 

78 



74 The Christian Life 

for Christianity are evident when we remember 
that religion is intended to affect with vital^ prac- 
tical reality every part of our beings and that every 
faculty of our nature is to be exercised to the full- 
est possible extent^ *'ever^ only^ all" for God. 

This thought of the Christian life as a walk is 
suggested by the text that heads this chapter. 
God speaking by the prophet is reminding Israel 
of their great spiritual privileges derived from 
fellowship with God^ declaring to them at the 
same time their sin in wandering from Him and 
showing the utter impossibility of the continuance 
of the old fellowship unless the proper conditions 
are fulfilled. We shall find that this text suggests 
some of the most important and vital truths con- 
nected with the Christian walk. 

THE NATURE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE 

The Christian life is a walk^ and a walk sug- 
gests at least four things. It presupposes Life, 
Dead people do not walk^ and it is impossible to 
think of a Christian "walking'* until we realise that 
he possesses spiritual life in order to enable him 
to do /SO. **He that hath the Son hath life/' and 
when we receive into our hearts by faith the life 
of God in Christ we have the certain guarantee of 
our Christian walk. 

A walk also suggests Activity, Walking is the 
expression and proof of life. We know that peo- 



Walking with God 75 

pie are alive when we see them walking. The 
Christian walk means activity in Christ and for 
Him. The life is not to be quiescent^ but energetic. 
The proof of our possession of life lies in our 
Christian walk. 

A walk also involves Progress, It is impossible 
to think of a walk without at once imagining the 
idea of movement and progress. In the same 
way the various references in Holy Scripture to 
the Christian walk assume that the believer is mak- 
ing progress^ that he has gone forward in the 
Christian life, that his experience is deepening, 
that his knowledge of his Lord is more real and 
precious, that his character is more stable and his 
work more and more influential. 

Then^ too, the Christian walk implies a Destina- 
tion, Properly understood, a walk is much more 
than a mere aimless saunter; it has a definite 
starting-point, and an equally definite goal. This 
is also the case with the Christian walk. There is 
an aim, an object, a purpose in it. The starting 
point is earth, the goal is Heaven. The Christian 
hastes on from Grace to Glory. 

The Christian walk is not a solitary one, for, 
as our text suggests, there is a companionship in 
it; the Christian does not go alone. This is true 
with reference to our fellow-Christians, and the 
New Testament is very clear in its emphasis on 
Christian love and fellowship. A purely individ- 



76 The Christian Life 

ualistic Christian is no Christian at all. A soli- 
tary Christian is an utter misnomer. No one can 
be a New Testament Christian apart from fellow- 
ship with other Christians. In this companionship 
there is joy and strength and inspiration^ and 
truly to be a saint in the Bible meaning of that 
word requires an experience of '*the Communion 
of Saints." 

Our present topic^ however, has to do, not with 
the companionship of Christians with Christians, 
but with the companionship of the believer with 
his God. This is the point of the prophet's word 
which heads the chapter. It is interesting to note 
the various prepositions that are found in Scrip- 
ture connected with the Christian walk. **Walk 
before me*' (Gen. xvii. 1). Abraham is called to 
sincerity, to live his life in the presence of God. 
"Ye shall walk after the Lord your God" (Deut. 
xiii. 4). The believer is also required to follow 
God in close, careful obedience. *'As ye have re- 
ceived Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him" 
(Col. ii. 6). The believer is commanded to walk 
in union with his Lord. But highest of all we 
read of walking "humbly with God" (Mic. vi. 8). 
This is our highest and truest companionship, keep- 
ing step with God day by day. 

The companionship of the believer with his God 
is more than ordinary friendship, it involves inti- 
macy. Companionship would be possible with a 



Walking with God 77 

number walking together, but in this case, as our 
text reminds us, we have "two" walking together. 
It brings before us the great New Testament real- 
ity of fellowship with God; "truly our fellow- 
ship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus 
Christ'* (1 John i. S) ; "the fellowship of the 
Holy Ghost" (2 Cor. xiii. 14). The thought of 
fellowship with God is the mountain peak of pres- 
ent Christian privilege. There is nothing beyond 
it, for the simple reason that union and communion 
with God constitute the very purpose of the Incar- 
nation of our Lord. 

The ideas connected with human fellowship may 
help us to understand what is the meaning of true 
intimacy. It involves at least three things: — reci- 
procal knowledge; reciprocal love; reciprocal en- 
deavour. When two people are really friends, they 
will ever be getting to know one another better; 
to love one another more deeply; and to work for 
one another more earnestly. We can easily real- 
ise what this means between the believer and God 
in all its unspeakable preciousness and power. 
Two men and two only, are recorded in the Old 
Testament as having walked with God — Enoch 
(Gen. v. 22) and Noah (Gen. vi. 9). Yet other 
servants of God doubtless had close fellowship with 
Him, for we are told of Moses that "God knew 
him face to face" (Deut. xxxiv. 10). 

Enoch and Noah seem also to represent tlie two 



78 The Christian Life 

aspects of the Christian life — the inner and the 
outer; character and conduct; contemplation and 
its action. It is not quite correct to imagine Enoch 
as living entirely the life of adoration^ contem- 
plation and communion^ for we are told (Jude 14, 
15) of his faithful testimony to the ungodly 
around him, and no one can be so faithful amidst 
surrounding idolatry and wickedness without ex- 
periencing opposition and real discipline of soul. 
In the case of Noah, however, there is no possible 
doubt about his being a man of affairs, a practical, 
hard-working servant of God who in the midst of 
his labours and testimony was nevertheless enabled 
to walk with God. It is impossible, therefore, for 
anyone to say that this walk with God is imprac- 
ticable and beyond our power. What man has 
done, man can do, for the grace of God is the 
same in all ages and the Lord is "rich imto all 
that call upon Him." 

One man and one man only in the Old Testa- 
ment has the great privilege of being called "the 
Friend of God" (2 Chron. xx. 7; Isa. xli. 8; James 
ii. 23) ; and to this very day in the Arabian desert 
Abraham is spoken of as El Khalil^ God's friend. 
But this very title is applied in the New Testa- 
ment to all the Master's disciples: "I have called 
you friends" (John xv. 15), "Ye are My friends, 
if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John xv. 
14). 



Walking with God 79 

THE SECRET OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE 

How then can this life of walking with God be 
realised? Our text supplies the answer — "Can 
two walk together^ except they be agreed?" We 
know how true this is in an earthly walk. The 
two friends must be agreed as to the time of start- 
ing^ the direction of the walk^ and also as to the 
topics of conversation. 

In like manner^ there must be ''agreement'' be- 
tween God and the believer if there is to be a walk 
together. What^ however, does it really mean for 
the believer and his God to "be agreed*'? In the 
margin of the R. V. there is a very interesting 
reading — "Can two walk together, except they 
make an appointment?" A still closer rendering 
of the Hebrew would be, "Except they meet by 
appointment." In the proper interpretation of 
this word lies the secret of walking with God. 
The Hebrew root from which the word comes is 
used in connection with the Jewish Tabernacle, 
which it will be remembered is, literally, "the tent 
of meeting/' and there are three passages in par- 
ticular which suggest to us the secret of walking 
with God. 

God met His people at the Mercy Seat. "There 
I will meet with thee" (Exodus xxv. 22). The 
Mercy Seat was in the Holy of Holies, and was 
approached only once a year by the High Priest 



80 The Christian Life 

alone. He brought the blood of sacrifice with 
him^ and sprinkled that blood in front of and upon 
the Mercy Seat; the Holy GJiost thus signifying 
that God and His people were now at peace^ recon- 
ciled on the basis of sacrifice. The predominant 
thought of the Mercy Seat was that of propitia- 
tion^ and in that propitiation God ''met His people 
by appointment." For us to-day the spiritual 
meaning and antitype are found in the Cross of 
Christ. "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitia- 
tion through faith in His blood'' (Rom. iii. 25). 
God meets us by appointment at the Cross^ and 
fellowship with Him is only possible on the basis 
of that sacrifice. This intimate connection of the 
believer with the Cross of Christ is not to be lim- 
ited to the moment of conversion^ or even to the 
elementary experiences of the Christian life. The 
death of Christ touches the Christian life at all 
points and at all times^ and is concerned with the 
deepest and most mature experiences of the Chris- 
tian soul. The teaching of the Apostle Paul (Rom. 
vi. ; 2 Cor. v.) clearly connects the death of our 
Lord with the whole course of the Christian life. 
We are not only justified by His blood (Rom. v. 
9)^ we are also sanctified thereby (Heb. xiii. 12). 
Never for an instant can we get away from or 
pass beyond the power of the propitiation of Cal- 
vary; it is there that God continues to meet with 
us day by day^ and at this meeting place we have 



Walking with God 81 

the first part of the secret of a truly blessed walk 
with our Heavenly Father. 

God met His people at the Altar of Burnt Offer- 
ing. "A continual offering ... at the door of 
the tabernacle . . . where I will meet you* (Exo- 
dus xxix. 42). The Burnt Offering was offered in 
the outer court of the Tabernacle morning by morn- 
ings and it was one of the sacrifices that were 
wholly consumed on the altar. The predominant 
spiritual meaning was not propitiation^ though that 
element was included^ but consecration. It im- 
plied the whole-hearted devotion and complete sur- 
render of the offerer; as his gift was wholly con- 
sumed by fire^ so his life was to be wholly dedi- 
cated to God. The Christian counterpart of this 
is very clear in the New Testament. As propitia- 
tion is seen in Rom. iii. 25, so consecration is seen 
in Rom. xii. 1, "I beseech you therefore by the 
mercies of God^ that ye present your bodies a 
living sacrifice/' In this whole-hearted surrender 
of the soul God meets with us, and we are thereby 
enabled to walk with Him. 

It is possible that one secret of our failure to 
walk with God lies just at this point. We have 
accepted our Lord as the propitiation, but we have 
not surrendered wholly to Him as our Master and 
Lord ; and yet He can never be wholly our Saviour 
unless He is also our Lord. The woman with the 
issue of blood attempted to obtain the blessing of 



82 The Christian Life 

healing without giving Jesus Christ credit in open 
testimony and confession, and in like manner it 
would seem as if many professed Christians de- 
sired to obtain the benefits of Calvary without 
yielding their lives to Him in grateful devotion as 
their Master and Lord. But as long as this is the 
case, there can be no walking with God. He must 
be Lord of all if we are to have fellowship with 
Him. Whenever, therefore, we are prepared to say 
from the heart, **Here we offer and present unto 
Thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to 
be a reasonable, holy and living sacrifice unto 
Thee," we shall find that He will meet with us 
and enable us to walk step by step in holy, happy 
and helpful fellowship with Him. 

God met His people at the Altar of Incense. 
**Thou shalt make it a perfume . . . and put of 
it before the testimony in the tabernacle . . . 
where I will meet with thee," (Exod. xxx. S5, 36). 
This Altar was in the Holy Place of the Taber- 
nacle, and was used day by day for the daily of- 
fering of incense (Luke i. 9). We can see the 
spiritual meaning of it in the Psalmist's words, 
"Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as the 
incense" (Psalm cxli. 2). The underlying thought 
is that of worship and communion, for as the in- 
cense rose day by day in the Tabernacle, so the 
people of Israel were to worship and commune 
with their God day by day. The spiritual mean- 



Walking with God 83 

ing for US is evident: we are called to daily com- 
munion with God through prayer and His Word. 
In prayer the soul speaks to God; in the Bible 
God speaks to the soul^ and this is another of the 
meeting places with God. God meets us by ap- 
pointment in daily worship and spiritual com- 
munion. 

May not the lack of this be another explanation 
of our failure to walk with God? The Christian 
life is absolutely impossible apart from a season 
of daily private prayer and Bible meditation. We 
must have time to speak to God and to allow God 
to speak to us. The great rush, pressure and com- 
plexity of modern life, so far from giving us any 
excuse for not having our time of private devo- 
tion, is itself the very reason why we should make 
this opportunity for private communion the very 
centre and strength of daily living. And if it 
should be urged that many have no time for it, 
the reply is as clear as it is imperative, we must 
do that easiest of all things — we must make time. 
It is simply astonishing how easy it is to make 
times. Even in the busiest life it is remarkable 
what five minutes of prayer and Bible meditation 
will do in enabling the soul to meet with God, and 
strengthen it for walk throughout the day. Scrip- 
ture is full of the clearest illustrations of the truth 
of Tennyson's words, that "solitude is the mother- 
country of the strong.'' And yet it is not really 



84 The Christian Life 

a solitude^ for it is a time spent in the presence 
of Qod^ waiting upon Him for guidance, wisdom, 
strength and blessing. This everyday experience 
of private prayer and meditation is at the root 
of all genuine Christian life. It is only as we 
"wait upon the Lord*' that we shall "renew our 
strength'' (Isa. xl. 31) and glorify God day by 
day. 

These are the three conditions of walking with 
God. He meets us by appointment in the propitia- 
tory sacrifice of Christ; in the complete consecra- 
tion of ourselves to Him ; and in daily communion 
with Him through prayer and our Bible. The 
order of these three in the book of Exodus is very 
noteworthy: it exactly agrees with the order of 
Christian experience, and when each is considered 
separately and all three are taken in their order, 
we learn the blessed secret of how to walk with 
God. 

Shall we not therefore make an appointment 
with God from this moment.^ There is no special 
place of meeting now, only a special Person 
through Whom we come. Christ our Saviour and 
our Lord is willing to make an appointment with 
us, if only we are willing to respond to Him, and 
definitely arrange to meet with Him day by day. 

Shall we not also take care to keep this appoint- 
ment.'^ How trying it is when through neglect 
people fail to keep their appointments with busy 



Walking with God 85 

professional men! And what must God think of 
the failure of His children to keep their appoint- 
ment with Him? How often at special services 
and meetings and conventions, or in some solemn 
or exceptional experience of daily life, we have 
made an appointment with God and then we have 
failed to keep it! No wonder that our Christian 
life is poor and failing; no wonder that our influ- 
ence is weak and almost worthless ; no wonder that 
God has no definite testimony from our life. What 
is needed above all things is that we should regard 
our appointment with God as the most sacred fact 
of daily life. The act will soon become a habit; 
and the habit will express itself in an attitude, 
until at length it will be of the very essence of 
our spiritual life day by day to meet with God. 
And thus our life will deepen in experience, ripen 
in blessing, widen in influence, and we shall go 
from strength to strength until at last the glorious 
promise is fulfilled, "They shall walk with Me in 
white.'* 

"Then all is peace and light, 
This soul within. 
Then I shall walk with Thee, 
The loved Unseen. 
Leaning on Thee, my God; 
Guided along the road. 
Nothing between." 



CHAPTER VII 

The Fulness of God 

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace 
in believing-, that ye may abound in hope, through the 
power of the Holy Ghost. And I myself am persuaded 
of you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, 
filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one 
another." — Rom. xv. 13, 14. 

A CHRISTIAN man was on his death-bed. 
He had spent a long life of service in the 
Kingdom of God^ and a friend at his side was en- 
couraging him with the thought of his approach- 
ing entrance into the Home above^ and the joy of 
meeting his Lord after all his earnest labour and 
faithful service. The dying man responded with 
beautiful humility^ *'I shall be satisfied if I can 
but creep into heaven on my hands and knees." 
We can easily understand the spirit which 
prompted these words ; he felt that his service was 
as nothing compared with his need of the Mercy 
of God through which alone he would reach the 
heavenly Kingdom. At the same time there is 
another sense in which the words are not rightly 
applicable to the Christian, for St. Peter speaks 
of our having "an abundant entrance ministered 
unto us into the everlasting kingdom" (2 Pet. i. 
11). In keeping with this St. Paul was constantly 

86 



The Fulness of God 87 

emphasising the Christian life under such figures 
of speech as "wealth/' *'riches^*' **abundance^" 
"fulness/' and he prays that Christians "might 
be filled with all the fulness of God/' He was 
not satisfied with a bare entrance into heaven, he 
wished his converts and himself to have the fullest 
possible Christian life and experience here below, 
and then to enter fully into the joy of the Lord 
above. This is the true Christian life, the life of 
fulness, depth, power and reality; the only life 
emphasised in the Word of God, the only life that 
can glorify God or satisfy His purpose concern- 
ing us. 

This fulness of life is brought very definitely 
before us in the above passage, which deserves and 
will need our most careful consideration. It has 
no less than six aspects of the full, rich, abun- 
dant Christian life. 

THE FULNESS OF GOD WHAT IT IS 

The fulness of God is the fulness of joy. "Fill 
you with all joy." Joy is one of the most impor- 
tant and prominent elements of the Christian life. 
It is a condition of soul which is the immediate 
result of our definite personal relation to Christ. 
There is a twofold joy in the Bible — the joy of 
salvation and the joy of satisfaction. The joy of 
salvation comes from the experience of sin for- 
given, from the consciousness that the burden has 



88 The Christian Life 

been rolled away^ and that all the past is covered 
in the righteousness of Christ. This was the ex- 
perience of the jailer at Philippic who "rejoiced, 
believing in God" (Acts xvi. 34). It was the res- 
toration of this joy for which David prayed (Psa. 
li. 12). 

The joy of satisfaction is the other element of 
the fulness of joy. "Satisfaction!" some one an- 
swers^ *'is it possible to use such a word in con- 
nection with the Christian life of the present.^*' 
Should we not limit this idea of satisfaction to the 
life to come.^ Satisfied with what.^ Not with 
ourselves^ nor with our own attainments or serv- 
ice, but satisfied with Christ. The Apostle Peter's 
glowing words are not to be postponed to the life 
to come, *Vhom^ having not seen, ye love; in whom, 
though now ye see him not^ yet belie^-ing^ ye re- 
joice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 
Pet. 1, 8). This is one of the searching and su- 
preme tests of life — our satisfaction with our 
Lord. How easy it is to sing^ 

"Thou, O Christ, art all I want. 
More than all in Thee I find," 

and yet how possible it is for the words to be 
really meaningless and no true expression of our 
personal experience. God's purpose for us is ful- 
ness of joy: ''Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again 
I say, rejoice," (Phil. iv. 4). 



The Fulness of God 89 

The fulness of God is the fulness of peace. 
"Fill you Avith all . . . peace/' This brings be- 
fore us the passive, as joy gives the active side 
of the Christian life. As with joy, so also there is 
a twofold peace in the Word of God, the peace 
of reconciliation and the peace of restfulness. The 
peace of reconciliation is the foundation: * 'Being 
justified by faith we have peace with God" (Rom. 
V. 1). The enmity has been removed, the barriers 
are broken down and the soul is reconciled with 
God through Him Who is our peace. And then 
comes the peace of restfulness: **The peace of 
God'* (Phil. iv. 7). The soul at peace with God 
enjoys a precious realisation of His presence as 
the God of peace, and restfulness arises and abides 
moment by moment in the heart. This again is 
part of the fulness of life which God intends for 
us in Christ Jesus, the fulness of His own peace. 
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind 
is stayed on Thee" (Isa. xxvi. 3). 

The fulness of God is the fulness of hope. **That 
ye may abound in hope." Hope in the New Testa- 
ment is a Christian grace wrought in the soul by 
the Holy Spirit. It is to be carefully distinguished 
from our modern use of the word as equivalent to 
hopefulness, just a mere matter of buoyancy of 
temperament. The Christian hope will undoubt- 
edly produce hopefulness, but the two arc never 
to be confused, much less identified. The one is 



90 The Christian Life 

the cause, the other the effect. Hope always looks 
on the future and is concerned with that great 
object which is put before us in the New Testa- 
ment. Joy looks upward, peace looks inward, hope 
looks forward. The Christian hope is fixed on the 
coming of our Lord, and this is a very prominent 
element of New Testament teaching. It is to be 
feared that it does not obtain great prominence 
in much of present day Christianity. Most people 
look forward, not to the coming of the Lord, but 
to death; yet the one object of expectation set be- 
fore us in the New Testament is the coming of our 
Lord. Now-a-days, the general idea is that death 
will come, and the Lord may come; but Scripture 
reverses this and says, "Death may come, but the 
Lord will come.'* It is impossible for the Chris- 
tian to look forward to death with happiness and 
peace. There is something in the very fact of 
dying which is abhorrent to the Christian man. It 
is not that he is afraid to die, but that he natu- 
rally shrinks from that which is ever spoken of in 
the Bible as man's **enemy.'' **The last enemy that 
shall be destroyed is death'' (1 Cor. xv. 26). The 
Lord's coming, on the contrary, is a subject of 
joy, satisfaction, blessedness, and the contempla- 
tion of it can do nothing but good to the soul. 

It is interesting to notice the place and order of 
**hope" in the light of what has preceded this word 
in our text. It is the present consciousness of joy 



The Fulness of God 91 

and peace that gives us our warrant for hope. 
As the Apostle himself says in another place it is 
"Christ in you^ the hope of glory'* (Col. i. 27). 
"Experience (produces) hope*' (Rom. v. 4). 

The fulness of God is the fulness of goodness. 
**Ye also are full of goodness." The place of this 
word following the other three in order is very 
noteworthy. Joy^ peace and hope are intended to 
have their personal and practical effect in produc- 
ing goodness. Our experiences are intended to 
result in character^ and if they stop short of this^ 
there is something greatly lacking in our Chris- 
tian life. Character is a settled state of goodness 
which comes from the experience of Christ and His 
grace^ and if our experiences are merely inter- 
mittent our goodness will be intermittent also. 
What is needed above all else in the present day 
is goodness^ character, reality. The finest testi- 
mony that can be given to any man is that which 
was said of Barnabas, "He was a good man" 
(Acts xi. 24). A minister may be an indifferent 
preacher, or an ineffective visitor; he may be lack- 
ing in genius and great capacity, but if he is a good 
man this is the first and supreme factor of Chris- 
tianity. "The fruit of the Spirit is . . . good- 
ness" (Qal. V. 22). 

The fulness of God is the fulness of knowledge, 
"Filled with all knowledge." The meaning of this 
can hardly be intellectual capacity, or even intel- 



92 



The Christian Life 



lectual attainments. It must be that spiritual 
knowledge^ that perception of spiritual realities 
which is the mark of a true and growing Christian. 
This spiritual perception is the result of the fore- 
going elements of joy^ peace^ hope and goodness, 
and it is a sure proof of spiritual growth and 
maturity. The latest Epistles of the three great 
Apostles, St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. John are 
very emphatic as to spiritual perception as the 
mark of Christian maturity. A careful considera- 
tion of the Epistles of St. Paul, known as those 
of his first captivity — Philippians, Ephesians and 
Colossians, will reveal to us the frequent occur- 
rence of the word ^'knowledge'* and the original 
term is almost always a word which implies "ma- 
ture'* or ''thorough knowledge." The second Epis- 
tle of St. Peter is also characterised by the same 
word, and although it consists only of three chap- 
ters, its emphasis on knowledge is really remark- 
able. The word is found in all three and then 
the Epistle closes with the exhortation to "grow 
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and 
Saviour." The great Epistle of St. John, known 
as the first Epistle, is also full of this idea of 
knowledge. Indeed the word "know" may be re- 
garded as the keynote of the whole writing. 
"These things have I written unto you that ye may 
know" (1 John v. 13). Spiritual perception is of 
the greatest possible importance in view of the 



The Fulness of God 93 

various forms of error that are rife on every hand. 
It is for the lack of it that many Christians are 
led astray ; they have not that ripe spiritual appre- 
hension which enables them to perceive the error 
and to cleave to the good. The Apostle's prayer 
for his friends at Philippi was that **their love 
might abound yet more and more in knowledge 
and in all judgment^ and that they might distin- 
guish things that differ'^ (Phil. i. 9^ 10^ Greek). 
This is our need to-day — a sense of spiritual dis- 
crimination to "prove all things, to hold fast that 
which is good/' and to "approve those things which 
are excellent/' because they are in accordance with 
the mind and will of Gpd. 

The fulness of God is the fulness of capability, 
"Able also to admonish." This is the practical 
outcome of all our experience, character and knowl- 
edge; they ought to be and must be put to prac- 
tical account. The Christians at Rome did not 
keep their blessings to themselves ; they had be- 
come capable ("able") and this capability ex- 
pressed itself in testimony, in passing on God's 
truth and grace to others through the medium of 
lip and life. This type of Christianity is sorely 
needed to-day. Christian testimony is far too fre- 
quently limited to the ordained ministry, or to a 
few Christian workers as distinct from the large 
body of Christian people. It ought to be true of 
every genuine follower of Christ that he is "able 



94 The Christian Life 

to admonish/* able to express spiritual experiences, 
able to bear witness to his Master's grace^ able 
to lead a soul to Christy able to help fellow-Chris- 
tians in spiritual difficulty, able to work for the 
Master either at home or abroad. There would 
be very much less dependence upon a professional 
ministry in time of spiritual difficulty if Chris- 
tian people as a whole were more capable of deal- 
ing with spiritual anxieties of soul. This is the 
crown and consummation of all our knowledge and 
experience, the ability to do good to others and to 
bless them by word and deed. 

These six elements of the fulness of life should 
be carefully noted. Each one by itself is essen- 
tial and important. Their order is also to be ob- 
served ; their measure, too, must not be overlooked. 
Not only are we to possess them; we are to have 
them in their fulness. 

And yet perchance some reader is saying that 
this is quite beyond us and utterly impossible. Are 
we quite sure, however, that this is so? Can we 
for an instant think that the Apostle Paul would 
pray this prayer for those Roman Christians if 
he did not expect an answer? God never mocks 
us by putting before us an impossible ideal. His 
"biddings are enablings,'* and this very passage 
which reveals all this wonderful fulness of bless- 
ing, reveals also its secret and shows the way 
thither. 



The Fulness of God 95 

THE FULNESS OF LIFE HOW IT COMES 

The passage before us brings a threefold an- 
swer to this question. We are shown the Divine 
Source. 'The God of hope." The fulness of life 
in the Christian is necessarily Divine not human. 
It comes from God, not from man. This title of 
God is very striking and occurs only in this place. 
'The God of hope.'' What does it mean.^ Prob- 
ably in the first place it means *'the God Who is 
the source of hope." But it may also include the 
idea of 'The God Who is Himself hope/* thus 
calling attention to hope as one of the characteris- 
tics of the Divine Nature. If this is the mean- 
ing, or even a part of the meaning, it is full of 
significance for our purpose in discovering the 
secret of life. We know well what hope does in 
connection with the teaching and training of chil- 
dren. If we wish a little one to undertake a task, 
and we show by our manner when we set the task 
that we expect the child to fail, we are almost 
guaranteeing the failure by robbing the little one 
of hope and encouragement. On the other hand, 
every true teacher knows the power of hope and 
encouragement in dealing with children. If we 
show that we expect the little one to succeed, we 
go far to guarantee the success. In like manner, 
God's attitude to His children is one of definite 
and powerful hope. He knows what His grace 



m 



96 The Christian Life 

can do, if only His children are willing to receive 
it. He does not expect His children to fail, but 
to succeed. He looks down from heaven as we 
yield ourselves to Him, and is to us the God of 
hope, full of Divine hope concerning us as we live 
in Christ. What a joy it is to be trusted by our 
God! What an inspiration to holiness and service 
to be assured of the Divine expectation of success 
and blessing! Surely we come at once to one of 
the deepest secrets of spiritual fulness of bless- 
ing, God's trust in us, God s hope concerning us 
as we yield ourselves unreservedly to His all-suf- 
ficient grace and power. 

We are taught the Divine Medium, "Through 
the power of the Holy Ghost.*' All the elements 
of the fulness of life already considered are stored 
up for us in Christ, and it is through the Holy 
Ghost that they are bestowed upon us. Our joy 
is '*joy in the Lord''; and the Kingdom of God is 
"joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rom. xiv. 17). Our 
peace is the peace of Christ (John xiv. 27) and 
this becomes ours by the Holy Spirit. Our hope 
comes from the indwelling of Christ (Col. i. 27) ; 
and this is made ours by the power of the Holy 
Spirit (Rom. v. 5,). Our goodness is due to the 
indwelling of our Lord, and this becomes ours in 
the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal. v. 22). Our 
knowledge and capability are also gifts of the 
Risen Lord which are made ours in personal ex- 



The Fulness of God 97 

perience by the indwelling presence of the Holy 
Spirit. And thus he is the Divine Medium through 
Whom everything comes which is needed for the 
fulness of life and power and blessing. 

We are told of the human channel. "In believ- 
ing." On our side. Faith is the response to Di- 
vine grace. Faith brings joy and peace; these in 
turn lead to hope; hope develops into goodness; 
goodness into insight; and insight into capability 
and usefulness. And thus Faith is the channel and 
means of everything God wants us to have. When 
we think of hope we at once realise that it is im- 
possible without faith. God desires us to love 
Him supremely, but we cannot love a God Whom 
we distrust. God wishes our obedience, but it 
is impossible to obey one Whom we deny. God 
asks for our service, but we cannot serve a God 
Whom we discredit. Faith is at the root and foun- 
dation of everything in the Christian life. 

Faith as revealed to us in Scripture is of a two- 
fold nature; there is the faith that ashs and the 
faith that accepts; the faith that appeals and the 
faith that appropriates. This is probably the rea- 
son why prayer and thanksgiving are so often as- 
sociated in the writings of St. Paul. They rep- 
resent to us the two aspects of faith. Prayer is 
the faith that asks; thanksgiving is the faith that 
takes. We lose a great deal in our Christian life 
by failure to distinguish between these two aspects 



98 The Christian Life 

of faith. We keep on askings when we ought to 
commence accepting. "Believe that ye have re- 
ceived^ and ye shall have'' (Mark xi. 24). Two 
intimate friends were once lunching together^ and 
after the host had said the usual grace^ "For what 
we are about to receive^ may the Lord make us 
truly thankful," his friend asked him when he 
was expecting to have that prayer answered. 
"What do you mean,'* was the reply. "Why,'* was 
the rejoinder, "to my certain knowledge you have 
been praying for the last twenty-five years 
to be made thankful: is it not about time that you 
were thankful.'^" This friend was trying to illus- 
trate the difference between praying to be made 
thankful, and saying, "I am thankful." In the 
same way in the Christian life there comes a time 
when we should cease asking and commence ob- 
taining. This is the value of the distinction be- 
tween God's promises and God's facts. The prom- 
ises are to be pleaded and their fulfilment ex- 
pected. The facts are to be accepted and their 
blessings at once used. When we read, "My grace 
is sufficient for thee," it is not a promise to be 
pleaded, but a fact to be at once accepted and en- 
joyed. When we say "The Lord is my shepherd," 
we are not dealing with a promise or the ground- 
work of prayer, we are concerned with one of the 
present realities of the Christian experience. A 
man kneels down before leaving home in the morn- 



The Fulness of God 99 

ing and asks God for grace to be kept every mo- 
Unent that day. Then he rises at once and goes 
about his work. Has he done all his duty in thus 
simply asking for grace.'* There was something 
more and better that he should have done. He 
should have given a moment more after asking, 
for the purpose of taking, by saying to God, "O 
my Gbd and Father, I believe that Thou art now 
giving me the grace that I have asked for; I here 
and no/r take Thy grace." As the hymn aptly 
puts it; 

"I take, He undertakes." 

The faith that takes is the secret of power and 
blessing, and the more trust of this kind we exer- 
cise the more power and the more fulness will 
come into our Christian life; and day by day we 
shall live a life of faith and shall say with the 
Apostle, **I can do all things through Him who is 
empowering me" (Phil. iv. 13: Greek), because 
we are able to say, **The life that I now live in the 
flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God Who loved 
me and gave Himself for me." 



CHAPTER VIII 

Peace, Perfect Peace 

"Jesus came and stood in the midst and saith unto 
them, Peace be unto you. . . . Then said Jesus to 
them again, Peace be unto you," — John xx. 19, 21. 

TRUE friendship will always be characterised 
by loving anticipation of our friend's needs, 
and loving forbearance with our friend's mistakes. 
These elements of true friendship are very clearly 
marked in our Lord's fellowship with His disciples. 
When He was about to die, knowing the perplexity, 
trial and sorrow that this would involve, He pre- 
pared His disciples for what was to come by His 
words, *Teace I leave with you. My peace I give 
unto you.'* *'Let not your heart be troubled/' 
Thus did He lovingly anticipate their needs. Then, 
after His death, when all their hopes had van- 
ished and their faith in Him was dead notwith- 
standing all His teaching and assurance about 
resurrection. His first word to them when He met 
them on the evening of the first Easter Day was, 
"Peace be unto you/* Thus did He lovingly for- 
bear with their mistakes. 

As we look more closely, however, into the story 
of the Easter greeting of our Lord to His disciples, 
we find something deeper and fuller than mere 

100 



Peace^ Perfect Peace 101 

human friendship. Twice over, and not once only, 
our Lord greeted them with *Teace be unto you." 
What is the meaning of this repetition.'* Was it 
merely to reassure their hearts and to disperse 
their fears .^ Or was there not some deeper mean- 
ing suggestive of the twofold peace which He de- 
sired to bestow.^ We believe the latter view is the 
correct one, especially when His words to the dis- 
ciples on the eve of His crucifixion are remem- 
bered, *Teace I leave with you. My peace I give 
unto you" (John xiv. 27). There seems to be 
some real and deep meaning in this repetition of 
"Peace"; and when we consider the matter more 
closely, we find that there is indeed a double peace 
which the Lord bestows upon His followers. This 
gift of a Divine twofold peace is one of the most 
precious lessons in the Christian life, and is one 
of the secrets of genuine Christian living. Let 
us look more closely into it. 

PEACE THROUGH SALVATION 

Consider the need of peace. To appreciate our 
Lord's greeting fully it is necessary to remember 
that there was a much greater need in the disciples' 
hearts than that of any mere reassurance after 
their fears. The great question of sin affects, and 
always must affect man's peace. Among the va- 
rious and sad results of sin one of the saddest is 



102 The Christian Life 

enmity against God and consequent estrangement 
from Him. Sin is the wilful setting up of self 
against God^ and is therefore an offence against 
His Person^ and an insult to His Divine character. 
This self-assertion of sin places a barrier between 
the soul and God^ and one of the primary neces- 
sities of the spiritual life is the removal of the 
estrangement by the breaking down of the barrier. 
We may as well try to blend light and darkness 
as to palliate and gloss over the hostility and es- 
trangement caused by sin. God must of necessity 
manifest towards sin the enmity of perfect holi- 
ness. Sin also produces enmity between man and 
man. The cause of hatred and malice with the con- 
sequent absence of all love and fellowship between 
men is found in the fact of sin. And even within 
man himself^ there is conflict^ estrangement and 
enmity between his higher and lower natures. This 
threefold enmity emphasises the urgent need of 
peace. 

Consider the source of peace. The question 
naturally arises as to how this enmity can be de- 
stroyed and the estrangement removed. A still 
more accurate question would be whether it has 
not already been removed and destroyed? The 
answer is that it has been removed by the death 
of Jesus Christ on the Cross. And this is evi- 
dently what our Lord meant His disciples to learn 
on that evening of the Resurrection. **He showed 



Peace ^ Perfect Peace 103 

unto them His hands and His side'* (John xx. 
20). Those tokens of His death at once revealed 
the fact of His death and prepared the way for 
their understanding of its meaning. The peace 
that He bestowed upon them was wrought out by 
His death; for as the Apostle clearly teaches. He 
has "made peace through the blood of His Cross/' 
(Col. 1. 20). ''He is our peace/' for He has 
reconciled man unto God by the Cross, **having 
slain the enmity thereby" (Ephes. ii. 13-17). This, 
too, is what He Himself meant when He said 
"Peace I leave with you" (John xiv. 27). This 
was His legacy "left" to His disciples, and, as we 
know, a legacy only becomes available by means 
of and subsequent to death. From that time for- 
ward peace was at the very centre and heart of 
the Apostolic Gospel, for they went everywhere 
"preaching peace by Jesus Christ" (Acts x. SQ^. 
We can now readily understand why our Lord 
showed them at that moment His hands and His 
side. It was because His death, thus proved to 
them, was the ground and basis of the peace He 
there and then bestowed. 

Consider the means of peace. How does this- 
peace enter our hearts.^ "He showed them His 
hands and His side." It was a visible symbol and 
picture of that vision of the heart by which we 
become partakers of the peace which Christ of- 
fers and bestows. "Look unto Me, and be ye 



104 The Christian Life 

saved" (Isa. xlv. 22). ''They looked unto Him, 
and were lightened" (Psa. xxxiv. 5). ''Being jus- 
tified by faith^ we have peace with God" (Rom. 
V. 1). It is by the look of faith that we under- 
stand and accept^ appreciate and appropriate the 
Lord Jesus as our peace. This is the first aspect 
of the peace of the Risen Lord. And if we "ac- 
quaint ourselves with Him^ and be at peace/' our 
experience will soon be that of the disciples : "Then 
were the disciples glad^ when they saw the Lord'' 
(John XX. 20). 

PEACE IN SERVICE 

Forgiveness is only the first step in the Chris- 
tian life. Service for God naturally follows. This, 
too, will need the experience of peace^ a peace 
based upon the former experience^ inseparably con- 
nected with but yet distinguishable from it. It 
was for this reason that our Lord said to them 
again, "Peace be unto you." The moment He had 
uttered the words the second time He added, "As 
My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you" 
(ver. 21). It is clear, therefore, that this peace 
was for a purpose and object different from the 
former; and when we turn to our Lord's words 
on the night of the betrayal we find again this dis- 
tinction of a twofold peace: ''My peace I give 
unto you" (John xiv. 27). This is e^adently dif- 



Peace, Perfect Peace 105 

ferent from "Peace I leave with you/* by its 
reference to the peace which our Lord Himself 
had^ His own peace all through those years of 
ministry. We cannot but be struck with the won- 
derful calm and restfulness of Christ in the face 
of all difficulties and opposition; there was no 
hurry^ no excitement^ no unrest^ but everything 
full of quiet and peace. And this is the peace 
that our Lord gave to His disciples as He com- 
missioned them for their task of world-wide 
evangelisation. A careful analysis of our Lord's 
own peace will show us what it means for all His 
followers to-day. 

It is the peace of uninterrupted communion. 
From the first glimpse of our Lord at the age of 
twelve up to the time of the cross we can see 
that His life was spent in unbroken communion 
with His Heavenly Father. Those nights spent 
in prayer were only special manifestations of an 
entire life of communion. He lived above all 
earthly distractions and heedless of all turmoils. 
More than once His fellowship with God was 
tested, but it stood fast and firm. This, too, is 
a possibility for all His followers — the peace of 
uninterrupted communion. Whatever may be our 
circumstances and however great the pressure upon 
us in Christian work and warfare, His peace may 
be ours, and should be ours, moment by moment. 

It is the peace of unfaltering confidence. Our 



106 The Christian Life 

Lord^s communion with the Father was based upon 
trusty and elicited trust which never once failed. 
When tempted by Satan in the wilderness to avoid 
the cross and take a shorter pathway to the crown. 
He trusted His Father's wisdom and power. When 
He was opposed by the Jews He knew that He 
was safe until His hour had come. At the grave 
of Lazarus He said with unhesitating assurance, 
"I know that Thou hearest Me always." In Geth- 
semane He had no doubt about the succour of 
twelve legions of angels had they been required. 
Through every dark phase in His earthly life He 
had the perfect peace which comes from continual 
trust in God. So it may be with us. Our com- 
munion with God will deepen our confidence, and 
our confidence in turn will deepen our communion. 
We know Him and we therefore trust Him, and 
like Job we say, "Though He slay me, yet will I 
trust Him," and like St. Paul, *'I know Whom I 
have believed." 

It is the peace of unswerving obedience. Com- 
munion and confidence had their blessed issue in 
obedience, as the predominant characteristic of our 
Lord's outward life. Our Lord realised fully the 
Psalmist's words, **I delight to do Thy will," and 
He Himself said in His earliest recorded words, 
"I must be about My Father's business." When 
opposed by the Jews He boldly said, "I do al- 
ways those things that please Him." When in 



Peace, Perfect Peace 107 

Gethsemane He said^ *The cup that My Father 
hath given Me^ shall I not drink it?'' and on the 
cross He could say what no other man has ever 
been able to say^ *'I have finished the work that 
Thou hast given Me to do/' The result of all 
this unswerving obedience was the peace and sat- 
isfaction which always come from faithful loyalty 
to God. This again may be our portion. **Great 
peace have they which love Thy law" (Psa. cxix. 
165). '*The work of righteousness shall be peace." 
Christian peace is always in proportion to our 
obedience. This is the second aspect of the peace 
of our risen Lord. 

And when we inquire how it may become ours, 
the answer is given in our Lord's action as re- 
corded in this chapter: **When He had said this. 
He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Re- 
ceive ye the Holy Ghost" (v. 22). It is by 
the possession of the same Holy Spirit which our 
Lord Himself possessed that this peace becomes 
ours. Our Lord is not only an example for us 
to copy; His resurrection gift enters the inner 
chambers of our being and enables us to realise 
His resurrection power in our life. 

This twofold peace — "peace vnth God" and 
"the peace of God" — is no mere spiritual luxury, 
but an absolute necessity ; nor is it for the purpose 
of meditative contemplation, but ratlier for prac- 
tical activity and daily life. There is nothing 



108 The Christian Life 

more practical and useful than Divine peace in 
the soul. The Apostle counselled the Christians 
at Ephesus to have their feet *'shod with the pre- 
paredness of the Gospel of peace" (Ephes. vi. 15). 
God's peace can fill our hearts with joy and happi- 
ness, grace and blessing day by day (Rom. xv. 
13). It can also keep us every moment, guard- 
ing our hearts and thoughts through Jesus Christ 
(Phil. iv. 7). Our foes are many, and mind and 
heart are liable to fail, but in the possession of 
Divine peace we have the secret of preservation 
and protection. God's peace can also rule our 
lives: "Let the peace of Christ rule in your 
hearts" (Col. iii. 15). Like an umpire whose de- 
cision determines everything^ peace should be and 
can be the arbiter in the soul, settling all things 
that are doubtful and guiding the life day by 
day. 

The life of peace, therefore^ is an absolute ne- 
cessity as an essential part of vital Christianity. 
If only there were more peace within, there would 
be more power and progress without. The words 
of the prophet are still true, when they speak of 
the connection between government and peace: 
**His government and peace" (Isa. ix). First gov- 
ernment, then peace. If the government of our 
life is upon Christ's shoulder, then "of the in- 
crease of peace" there will indeed be no end. The 
more we yield to Him and surrender to His con- 



PeacCy Perfect Peace 109 

trol^ the more and deeper will be our experience 
of peace ; and day by day in faith and faithfulness 
we shall experience more and more of the old 
familiar words^ "Thou wilt keep him in perfect 
peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee.** 



CHAPTER IX 
Joy and Praise 

"Let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: 
let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest 
them: let them also that love Thy Name be joyful in 
Thee." — Psalm v. 11. 

THE genealogy and history of praise are con- 
tained in six well-known words. They are 
all associated etymologically and when placed in 
order they tell their own story. The six words 
are: "price/' "appraise/' "appreciate/' "prize/* 
"precious/* "praise." Praise may therefore be 
defined as the expression of appreciation. Prais- 
ing is the result of prizing. We can easily see 
from this that the praise of God is the expression 
of our appreciation of God. We prize Him^ there- 
fore we praise Him. He is precious^ and is there- 
fore to be praised. This appreciation of God re- 
fers both to what He is and what He gives^ for 
Scripture uses praise in connection with both ideas. 
The true spirit of praise will thus be the true ex- 
pression of our appreciation. In so far as God 
is real and realised in our life we shall find Him 
precious, and the result will be praise. 

But the question at once arises, What is the 
true spirit of praise? How may we know that 
this is ours? There is at least one sure test and 

110 



Joy cund Praise 111 

certain proof: the possession by us of the spirit of 
joy. When we know what the joy of the Lord 
is, when we understand what it is to rejoice in 
the Lord, we shall have the guarantee of the true 
spirit of praise. This, then, is our subject, the 
relation of joy to praise; and we shall consider 
it under the guidance of four propositions. 

THE NATURE OF JOY IS A CALL TO PRAISE 

What is joy.'^ Joy is a condition of soul, an 
attitude of soul, an emotion of soul, which is the 
direct result of our being right with God. It is 
due to our accepting, maintaining, and realising 
a right position before God. It cannot be too 
strongly emphasised or too constantly remembered 
that joy is the immediate and necessary outcome 
of a heart that is right and a life that is straight 
with God. 

This joy, arising from a right relation to God, 
concerns the whole of our life — past, present, and 
future. In regard to the past it is the joy of 
recollection, arising out of what God has been to 
us; in regard to the present it is the joy of realisa- 
tion, arising out of what God is to us; in regard 
to the future, it is the joy of anticipation, arising 
out of what God will be to us. Thus we have the 
joy of retrospect, aspect, and prospect, and all is 
concerned with God's relation to us and ours to 
God. 



112 The Christian Life 

Joy is therefore to be clearly distinguished from 
happiness^ though the two words are often used 
interchangeably and the two things are confused 
far too frequently. Happiness^ as we can see 
from the word^ depends on what happens, i. e., 
on circumstances^ and it varies accordingly. Joy 
is really independent of circumstances^ and should 
be unvarying. St. Paul could not have been 
"happy" when he spoke of himself as "sorrowful," 
but he could nevertheless say, ''Sorrowful, yet al- 
ways rejoicing." Happiness is like the surface 
of the sea; to-day calm, to-morrow turbulent. Joy 
is like the bed of the ocean, ever the same. Hap- 
piness depends on what we have; joy depends on 
what we are. Happiness is excited by the pos- 
session or expectation of good things as distinct 
from evil; joy is excited by the possession or ex- 
pectation of God, apart from good or evil. 

It can readily be seen, then, that since joy is 
what it is, it is the direct source of praise. If 
we prize God we shall have joy in God, and hav- 
ing joy we shall express it in praise. The nature 
of joy is a call to praise. 

THE EXPERIENCE OP JOY WILL BE THE SUBSTANCE 
OF PRAISE 

There are many ways in which joy comes to 
us. The avenues of joy are manifold. Limiting 



Joy and Praise 113 

ourselves to the verse which heads our chapter^ 
we notice three channels of joy. 

There is the joy that is born of faith. "Let all 
those that trust in Thee rejoice." Trust links us 
to God and leads to joy. There is the joy of 
conversion^ *'the joy of salvation." "We joy in 
God^ through whom we have received the atone- 
ment." "Joy and peace in believing." This was 
the joy of the Philippian jailor who "rejoiced be- 
lieving in God." This is the joy of condemnation 
cancelled, of guilt removed, of righteousness im- 
puted, of acceptance bestowed. 

And the joy of faith is the joy, not only of the 
commencement, but also of the course and con- 
tinuance of the Christian life. It is the joy of 
consecration, for our whole life is a life of faith. 
Faith unites us to God, and enables us to abide 
in God; faith rests on God's faithfulness, depends 
on His wisdom, appropriates His fulness, and real- 
ises Him as our all in all. 

There is the joy that comes from assurance. 
"Let them ever shout for joy because Thou de- 
fendest them." This is the joy that depends not 
on our faith, but on God's faithfulness; not on 
our trust, but on His trustworthiness. This is 
the spirit that can count it all joy when we fall 
into divers trials — the spirit that glories in tribu- 
lation, that rejoices because our names are writ- 
ten in Heaven. This is the joy that comes from 



114 Th€ Christian Life 

the confident and blessed assurance that God is 
our shield^ our strength^ and salvation. 

There is the joy that arises out of love, **Let 
them also that love Thy Name be joyful in Thee/' 
This is the joy that comes from fellowship. *'God's 
Name" means God's character^ God's nature as 
revealed in His Word^ and to 'love His Name" 
is to have fellowship with Him in and through 
His great purpose and provision of grace in Christ. 
To love His Name we must know His Name^ and 
at the same time in order to know we must love, 
and the result of this fellowship will be joy in 
God. 

This threefold experience of joy will naturally 
and inevitably be the substance of our praise. The 
feeling of joy will lead to the fact of praise^ ex- 
perience will lead to expression^ and joy to praise. 

THE DEEPENING OF JOY SHOULD BE THE GROWTH OF 

PRAISE 

The Christian life is intended to be a life of 
progress^ a life of perpetual movement on an up- 
ward path. This progress is indicated in the verse 
before us. 

There is a clearly marked growth in the na- 
ture and effect of joy. Three times^ as we have 
seen, joy is mentioned in the text, and not only 
is there a difference in the experience of joy, but 



Joy and Praise 115 

there is also a difference in the expression of joy. 
The first gives us joy as a separate act ("re- 
joice"); the second shows joy as a constant habit 
(*'ever shout for joy'*); the third reveals joy as 
a settled character (**be joyful"). Act^ habit, 
character — this is the true order of the Christian 
life. **Sow an act, reap a habit; sovr a habit, reap 
a character; sow a character, reap a destiny." 
These words have their practical application to the 
Christian life. Our acts of joy should become 
habits, and our habits go to form our Christian 
character; and we may be sure that if our life is 
not settling into habits and forming character, 
there is a great weakness, a grave want some- 
where. 

This deepening joy is seen by a further con- 
sideration of the verse. The joy of trust empha- 
sises the human act; the joy of assurance makes 
prominent the Divine gifts; but the joy of love 
is a joy in God Himself rather than in His grace 
or gifts. 

This threefold progress of the Christian life 
is to be found in other parts of the Word of God. 
St. John writes (1 John ii. 12-14): "Little chil- 
dren"; **Young men"; *Tathers." *'I write unto 
you, little children . . ." This answers to the joy 
of trust. "I write unto you, young men . . ." 
This is the joy of assurance. *'I write unto you, 
fathers . . ." Tliis is the joy of love. 



116 The Christian Life 

Look also at St. John xxi. : 'Teed My lambs''; 
''Shepherd My sheep''; "Feed my growing sheep." 
(See Westcott in loc) Consider also St. Paul at 
Miletus, in Acts xx. In three verses he gives us 
the true progress. At first he refers to the "Gos- 
pel of the Grace of God" ; then to "preaching the 
kingdom of God"; and, lastly, to "declaring the 
whole counsel of God." We have the same growth 
in the babe of 1 Cor. iii., the instructed be- 
liever of Rom. viii., and the mature Christian of 
Eph. i-iv. 

We must therefore emphasise the need of prog- 
ress in joy; and then as our joy deepens our 
praise will grow in reality, sincerity, and glory. 
The deepening of joy must be the growth of 
praise. 

THE DEGREE OF JOY MUST BE THE MEASURE OP 
PRAISE 

There is a great law of proportion in the King- 
dom of God. It is suggested in many parts of 
the Word of God, but very simply and significantly 
by the use of the prepositions in Hebrew and 
Greek which we render by "according to." If we 
read Psalm cxix., with its iteration of "according 
to"; if we study the Epistle to the Ephesians, with 
its frequent and profound emphasis on "according 
to," we shall see that as Divine grace is accord- 



Joy and Praise 117 

ing to Divine love^ so human life should be ac- 
cording to Divine grace. Human joy, therefore, 
should be ^'according to*' Divine grace, and our 
praise should be ^'according to'* our joy. 

Now in the Word of God there are various 
epithets associated with joy which tell us what 
God is ready to bestow and what we ought to be 
ready to receive. We have the **much joy*' of 
Acts viii., the **great joy" of John xv., the **ful- 
ness of joy" of Ps. xvi., the *'joy unspeakable" 
of 1 Pet. i., and the "everlasting joy" of Isa. 

XXXV. 

And as our joy increases, our praise should in- 
crease. The measure of the one must be the meas- 
ure of the other, the ratio exact and the propor- 
tion perfect. The degree of joy is the measure 
of praise. 

This, then, is the relation of joy and praise. 
The nature of joy is a call to praise; the expe- 
rience of joy is the subject of praise; the deepen- 
ing of joy is the growth of praise; and the de- 
gree of joy is the measure of praise. From all 
this we infer two practical truths for our daily 
life. 

Joy is a very simple test of life. 

It is perhaps the simplest barometer of our 
spiritual state. This is so because it means our 
asking but one question, **What is God to me noic?** 
In proportion as God is appreciated and prized 



118 The Christian Life 

will there be joy^ but if there be no joy, it really 
means that there is no appreciation of God. No 
appreciation, no joy; some appreciation, some joy; 
much appreciation, much joy; growing apprecia- 
tion, growing joy; abiding appreciation, abiding 

joy- 

Joy is a very satisfying test of life. 

We cannot possibly test our own holiness ; others 
alone can do that. We cannot possibly gauge our 
own humility; we cannot possibly register our 
own growth in grace. This all means looking 
within, which is a fatal mistake for any believer. 
But when I ask myself, "What is God to me now?" 
I am at once occupied with Him rather than with 
myself, and in that occupation we find our per- 
fect satisfaction. In His light "we see light," 
light on ourselves and our life; and joy in God, 
because it is the index of our appreciation of God, 
will be the surest test of our spiritual life and 
power. 

We have, therefore, only to let God be real, to 
live close to Him, to let Him be first, submitting 
to His righteousness, relying on His faithfulness, 
abiding in His presence, drawing from His fulness 
and surrendering to His lordship, in order to live 
a life of ever-growing joy, a life of ever-deepen- 
ing praise, and a life of ever-increasing glory to 
God. 



CHAPTER X 

God's Surprises 

"And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to y^ 
see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy 
seed." — Gen. xlviii. 11. 

ONE o£ the most potent elements in human 
life is that of surprise. Its value and im- 
portance are very evident^ for from early years 
to old age it plays a great part in the experience 
of mankind. How we delight to surprise little 
children with new gifts and pleasures ! With what 
perennial interest the visits of Santa Claus are 
anticipated! With what glad surprise we receive 
good news^ and with what pleasure we plan sur- 
prises on birthdays and at Christmas time! Par- 
ent and child^ husband and wif e^ friend and friend, 
all use and delight to use this element of surprise. 
This influence is not lost in the higher sphere 
of spiritual realities. It enters into every Chris- 
tian experience. God knows the power of sur- 
prise, and with deepest reverence we may say that 
He delights to surprise and astonish His people 
in manifold ways. When He gave His only Be- 
gotten Son for the life of the world He gave man- 
kind the greatest possible surprise, for whether 
we think of the life, or the teaching, or the in- 

119 



120 The Christian Life 

fluence of our Lord^ we are face to face with the 
perpetual surprise of the ages. And now day 
by day in that ^'unspeakable gift*' every believer 
is continually being surprised by God with mar- 
vellous gifts of grace. 

THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS 
ASSOCIATED WITH DEFINITE SURPRISES 

The weary soul at that time has but one thought, 
the burden of sin and the desire to get rid of it. 
Convicted of personal guilt, the heart knows its 
own bitterness and is conscious of the Divine con- 
demnation. Like Christian, when he passed 
through the wicket gate, the one overmastering 
thought is, how to get rid of the terrible burden. 
The Christian life commences with the removal 
of that burden as the soul looks to Calvary, and 
looking, becomes conscious of pardon and deliver- 
ance. But instead of pardon only, the penitent 
soul finds very much more, for with the pardon 
comes a sense of peace and rest, and a conscious- 
ness of a reconciliation with God. Nor is this all, 
for there is also a delightful sense of freedom and 
liberty, together with a wondrous experience of 
jo3^ Even these things are not the whole, for 
there comes into the soul a blessed consciousness 
of the presence of God, and with this the gift of 
His indwelling Spirit. Thus the soul at the very 



God's Surprises 121 

outset is surprised and astonished beyond meas- 
ure at the Divine bounty to one whose only thought 
was riddance of a terrible burden. Like the thief 
on the cross^ who expected some future deliverance 
when the Lord should come into His kingdom^ and 
was surprised with a present^ immediate blessing, 
"To-day thou shalt be with me/' so now the be- 
lieving heart finds a succession of surprises at the 
very commencement of its Christian career. The 
Queen of Sheba received at Solomon's hand not 
only "all her desire/' but also, in addition, "that 
which he gave her of his royal bounty." In like 
manner, to our great and overwhelming surprise, 
we are not only reconciled, but "much more, be- 
ing reconciled," we are conscious of abundant 
mercy and grace, and the soul "transported with 
the view," is "lost in wonder, love, and praise." 

THE COURSE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS A CONSTANT 
SUCCESSION OF SURPRISES 

One of the first deep needs of the Christian life 
is Knowledge, The great commission of our Lord 
to His Church included not only preaching and 
baptising, but "teaching," and the new-born soul 
needs guidance and knowledge from the very first. 
In the old days of spiritual darkness the Bible was 
felt to be an uninteresting and dry record, but now 
the Holy Spirit has given new sight to the soul 



122 The Christian Life 

and sheds new light on the Word. The Bible be- 
comes a new book^ and the constant prayer of the 
young Christian is^ Lord^ teach me. As the days 
go on this prayer is answered in an ever-increas- 
ing experience of the joy and inspiration of Holy 
Scripture in its application to the soul_, until the 
believer can take the words of the psalmist as his 
own and say, *'I rejoice in Thy Word as one that 
findeth great spoil.'* He can even say, "I have 
more understanding than all my teachers, for Thy 
testimonies are my study." With the prophet Jere- 
miah he can add, *'Thy words were found, and I 
did eat them; and they were to me the joy and 
rejoicing of my heart." As experience deepens, 
the soul realises that the Master has "many things 
to say" to us; our constant prayer is, **Speak, 
Lord, for Thy servant heareth," and our exultant 
testimony is, ''Who teacheth like Him?" 

Another need of the Christian life is Grace, 
and here again our experience is one of continual 
surprise. When our Christian life commences it 
is probably true to say that our hopes are bounded 
by the one thought of doing right and avoiding past 
sins and errors, but the Lord gives very much 
more than this. Like Jacob, in our text, as he 
looked back over the past, we become conscious of 
the Apostolic truth that "He giveth more grace," 
and "of His fulness" we are continually receiving, 
and "grace for grace." Like David (2 Samuel 



God^s Surprises 123 

vii. 18, 19), we not only rejoice in what we have^ 
but in adoring thankfulness we say, "Thou hast 
spoken of Thy servant's house for a great while 
to come/' We learn the secret of that frequently- 
repeated New Testament phrase "much more/' 
and this becomes the keynote of our experience. 
We started with praise and thanks to God as the 
One "Who forgiveth all our sins/' but we go on 
to experience Him as the One "Who healeth all 
our diseases, Who redeemeth our life from de- 
struction, Who crowneth us with tender mercies 
and loving-kindnesses, and satisfieth our mouth 
with good things." Again and again we have the 
promise and find it blessedly true in our lives, 
"The Lord shall open unto thee His good treas- 
ure," and day by day we receive "abundance of 
grace in His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus." 
Yet another characteristic of the true Christian 
life is Fellowship, Of necessity this is but dimly 
realised at first, but the consciousness grows as 
our spiritual life deepens. At first we are like the 
disciples at Emmaus who invited our Lord to be 
their guest, but the Lord soon becomes the Host 
and we the guests. When the Lord first comes into 
the soul the word is, "I will sup with liim/' but 
the positions soon change, and we experience the 
other part of the great promise, "and he with 
Me." Day by day He surprises His people with 
fuller revelations of Himself and of their priv- 



124 The Christian Life 

ileges and joys in Him. Union and communion 
become intensified^ and while in the old days we 
were *'far off' we are now not only "made nigh/' 
but are citizens of the kingdom^ members of the 
household^ children of the Family^ * 'heirs of God, 
and joint-heirs with Christ." We realise God's 
ideal for us in fellowship with Himself. God's 
purpose is not only salvation or even life, but 
these as the means of fellowship. "Truly our 
fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, 
Jesus Christ." This is made ours by "the fellow- 
ship of the Holy Ghost," and day by day this fel- 
lowship deepens and grows and becomes more 
precious. 

"The love of Jesus, what it is, 
None but His loved ones know." 

THE CROWN OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE WILL BE FULL 
OF MARVELLOUS SURPRISES 

The future state itself will be a surprise. 
Heaven has been well defined as "the sweet sur- 
prise of a perfect explanation." Already, in the 
mercy and grace of God, we are His children, but 
"it doth not yet appear what we shall be," and 
when it does appear the glory will be astonishing. 
The results of the present life as then revealed 
will also be great surprise. When the King sits 
on His throne and before Him are gathered all 



Godi's Surprises 125 

nations and He shall say, "Came, ye blessed of 
My Father, for I was an hungered, and ye gave 
Me meat,'' those who are thus addressed will an- 
swer in astonishment, "Lord, when saw we Thee 
an hungered?" They cannot realise what this 
means, and to what in their past life it refers. No 
work for God is ever lost, no service for Him can 
possibly be forgotten. When the books are 
opened every detail and impression will be found 
recorded, and then we shall know in reality what 
life has been. 

The greatest surprise of all will be the Master 
Himselfi Far beyond our dreams and highest con- 
ceptions will be the sight of the glory of our Re- 
deemer. "We shall see Him as He is," and that 
sight will be glorious in all the marvel of its Di- 
vine and perpetual surprise. 

God thus delights to encourage our faith, re- 
joice our love, and inspire our hope by the sur- 
prises of His mercy, grace and blessing. "Eye 
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have en- 
tered into the heart of man, the things which God 
hath prepared for them that love Him." Yet even 
here and now God reveals very much of this Di- 
vine provision by His Holy Spirit, and it is one 
of the sources of joy in the present life that God 
is always preparing some deliglitful surprise for 
His children. Much more will it be true in the 
life to come that Heaven and all its treasures 



126 The Christian Life 

will be one constant succession of surprises to the 
people of God. Indeed,, it will be one of the 
glories and joys of eternity to realise that there 
will never come a time when God will have noth- 
ing else to show us or nothing else to give us. As 
the finite ever approaches nearer the Infinite^ more 
and more of the Divine holiness^ grace^ and glory 
will be discovered to the never-ending praise of 
His grace. 

This is a call to accept the Lord Jesus now 
as a personal Saviour and so to begin this life of 
perpetual and increasing surprise. All God's gifts 
are stored in Christy and from the moment we re- 
ceive Him into our hearts we find the gradual un- 
folding of every power and blessing stored up in 
Him. 

Is not this also a call to enjoy these gifts of 
grace .^ The Christian life is intended to be joy- 
ous^ enjoyed and enjoyable. By trust and obedi- 
ence, by surrender and service, by listening and 
learning, by hearkening and heeding, loyalty to 
God will bring with it the fulness of the Holy 
Spirit, and with this all else will follow. 

Then, too, we must take care to share these sur- 
prises and pass on the blessings to others. The 
Apostle bids the Christians of Ephesus to be "im- 
itators of God," and we cannot do better than imi- 
tate God in this matter of providing surprises for 
those around us. In the home, among our friends. 



God's Surprises 127 

with our acquaintances^ in the church and social 
circles, we shall find many an opportunity of pre- 
paring surprises by acts of kindness, loving words, 
and pleasing actions, thus adding to our own joy 
as we afford continual enjoyment to others. 

Above all, let us ever expect to receive more and 
more of these surprises at the hands of God. His 
word to us is, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, 
saith the Lord." **I know the thoughts that I 
think towards you, thoughts of peace, and not of 
evil," and so the believer can look up and say, 
"How precious are Thy thoughts unto me, O God V* 
We review the past and our testimony is, *'The 
Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we 
are glad." We look around on the present and 
we seek His grace to show "how great things the 
Lord hath done for us," and as we look forward 
to the future we hear the Master say, "Believest 
thou this? Thou shalt see greater things than 
these," for "He is able to do exceedingly abun- 
dantly above all that we ask or think" through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. 



The Works of the 

Rev. W. H. Griffith Thomas, D. D. 

(With names of the publishers) 

The Book of Genesis. A devotional commentary. Three 

vols. Vol. I, Ge;i. 1-25; Vol. II, Gen, 25-36; Vol. III. 

Gen. 36-50. Cloth, each net . . . . $1.00 

(Fleming H. Re veil Co., New York and Chicago.) 

The Epistle to the Romans. A devotional commentary. 

Three vols. Vol. I, Rom. 1-5; Vol. II, Rom. 6-11; Vol. 

Ill, Rom. 12-16. Cloth, each net . . . $1.00 

(Fleming H. Revell Co., New York and Chicago.) 

The Apostle Peter. Outline studies in his life and 

epistles. Cloth, net $1.25 

(Fleming H. Revell Co., New York and Chicago.) 
Methods of Bible Study. A series of sugrgestions. Cloth, 

net .50 

(Fleming H. Revell Co., New York and Chicago.) 

Grace and Power. Some aspects of the spiritual life. 

Cloth, net $1.00 

(Fleming H. Revell Co., New York and Chicago.) 
The Holy Spirit of God. Studies in the Biblical, histor- 
ical, theological and practical aspects. Cloth, net $2.00 
(Longmans, Green & Co., New York.) 
The Power of Peace. A meditation. Cloth, net. 

(Roht. Scott, Ltd., London, Eng.) 
The Prayers of St. Paul. Deyotional and exegetical. 

Cloth, net . . .75 

(Charles Scrihner's Sons, New York.) 
The Christian Life and How to Live It. Cloth, net .75 

(The Bible Institute Colportage Association, Chicago.) 

Life Abiding and Abounding. Bible studies in Prayer 

and Meditation. Cloth, net .... .50 

(The Bible Institute Colportage Association, Chicago.) 

The Acts of the Apostles. Outline studies in Primitive 

Christianity. Cloth, net .... .50 

(The Bible Institute Colportage Association, Chicago.) 

Here Am I. A heart-to-heart talk. Paper, net . .25 

Mending Their Nets. Paper, net . . . .25 

(Evangelical Publishers, Toronto,) 

What About Evolution? Paper, net . . . .10 

(The Bible Institute Colportage Association, Chicago.) 

All the books named above may be obtained from 

The Bible Institute Colportage Association 

826 North La Salle Street, Chicago 



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